The Ruined Vacation
by Shadow Oblivion
Summary: After some difficulties with the group's vacation, Albel and Nel find themselves stuck in a hostile region with enemies. [complete] Alnel.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Do not own Star Ocean 3 characters or anything from it, so there.

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Albel trudged along the path silently, scowling darkly up at the falling snow. The mountain path to Airyglyph was too quiet for his liking, with no monsters to break the mounting tension. It had been like this ever since Luther had been defeated. Albel frowned, casting occasional glances to and fro. He suddenly halted, annoyed. Why was he being so cautious?

'_You think that Fayt and the others are up to something…' _A small voice inside his head told him.

"Hmpf. Stupid maggots. They wouldn't dare try to do anything to me…" Albel grumbled aloud. His ruby colored eyes darted around again, and Albel jumped when the communicator he had with him rang.

'_You're paranoid…' _The voice told him, sounding amused.

"Bah! Shut up!" Albel growled, as he resumed walking, choosing not to answer the communicator. Albel hated to admit it, but the voice was right. He had become more and more suspicious of his so called 'friends'. When Albel had seen them last, that maggot(Cliff) had been grinning to much for his own good, while also managing to be more irritating than usual. Then there was that fool(Fayt) who had been avoiding him upon any question asked(Fayt was also acting too happy, which annoyed Albel greatly). The other worms(Maria, Sophia and Mirage) had been giggling at any whispered comment amongst themselves, especially if he had been passing by.

This and more had caused Albel to mostly avoid them, including the other fools(Roger, Peppita, and Adray). The only person Albel had seen in the past couple of months was Nel. He enjoyed insulting her just to see her reaction. If Albel felt like he needed a fight, he'd insult her first, then initiate the battle. This seemed to be the only form of fighting he could get, with the exception of the new recruits in the Black Brigade(They were always fun to intimidate).

While he walked, the communicator kept going off continuously. Albel stubbornly ignored it, as he saw Airyglyph in the distance. He could relax somewhat once he was safely inside the city gate. A deafening roar sounded,however, and Albel glanced up at the source of the noise. It was an enormous wingless dragon, and it was furious. A satisfied smirk came to Albel's face as he dodged the dragon's tail swipe and drew his katana. Things were much more interesting now.

The dragon continued to swing its tail, while occasionally spewing fire or lashing out with its talons.

Albel dodged everything, while scoring hits with his katana and gauntlet alternately. Ten minutes into the fight, the dragon was too tired to do anything but lash out occasionally at the fast moving swordsman. By now though, Albel had grown weary of the fight, and dispatched the dragon with a few final slashes and an aura from his gauntleted palm.

The dragon toppled to the ground, dead, as Albel sheathed his katana and continued on to the gate as if nothing had happened.

The two soldiers came to rigid attention as Albel passed by them.

He noted with some amusement that one of the soldiers gave him and his gauntlet a nervous glance. Not that Albel blamed them, after seeing the battle. They probably wouldn't be able to get a good night's rest for some time.

Inside city walls, Albel shivered slightly in the cool night air, wondering why the hell he had even decided to show up. He cursed the weather profoundly, causing a mother to lead her children away, while also throwing Albel an offended look. Albel ignored her completely as he headed for the castle.

The king, Airyglyph XIII, had sent a Dragon Brigade soldier with a message for Albel. He was to come as soon as he could to Airyglyph upon receiving the message. Albel had scoffed, and decided to take his time, having some suspicion at the sudden summon. As Albel had traveled, he became more and more aware of someone or something following him. This had resulted in him being more cautious and alert.

The two soldiers at the castle gate saw Albel approaching. The younger soldier, a new recruit, spoke in a low voice to the other. "Albel sure is late. Is he always like that?"

The older soldier shrugged. "He comes and goes as he pleases."

"What…is he wearing…?" The younger soldier asked skeptically, eyeing Albel's purple sarong with faint amusement.

"I wouldn't comment on his clothing anywhere near him, unless, of course, you have a death wish." The older soldier replied quickly as Albel came to stand in front of them, a bored expression on his face.

"Open the gates." Albel commanded shortly, eyeing the young soldier silently.

The young soldier busied himself by opening the gate, to avoid the Black Brigade Captain's stare.

Albel strode by casually. "Watch what you say fool. You never know if someone's…_listening_." Albel said calmly as he entered the castle. The young soldier suppressed a shudder, wondering if he had just shortened his life by a few years.

Inside the castle, Albel slowly headed for the stairs which would take him up to the throne. Albel stopped in his tracks though, when a cat decided to halt in front of him and start grooming itself.

Scowling, Albel swiftly drew his katana and lashed out at the cat, chopping some of the feline's hair off.

The cat hissed angrily, and shot off, sporting a bald spot, its tail high up in the air.

Albel gave a short laugh as he sheathed his katana. "Worm," Albel muttered. Satisfied, he walked on to the stairs, which would lead him to speak to the king and find out why he was there. As Albel walked, he thought he heard a gasp and a faint scream.

Deciding that he must have heard things, Albel reached the top of the stairs and immediately frowned. The old man, Woltar, was standing next to the king, and they were conversing in quiet tones. There weren't any soldiers in the area, which made Albel slightly suspicious. _'What are they talking about?'_ Albel thought as he shrugged and stepped forward, halting several steps away from the king. He settled into a relaxed pose, clawed gauntlet resting on his katanas' hilt. "What is it that you wanted to see me for?" He asked, disregarding the fact that the king and Woltar were still talking.

"Ah, Albel, how nice of you to decide to show up." Woltar said with a smile.

Albel scowled at him, before turning to the king.

"This isn't an emergency or anything. It seems that Fayt and some of his friends are looking for you. They're here in the guest rooms. They wanted me to summon you, as it seems they've had some difficulties reaching you." King Airyglyph XIII told Albel.

Albel frowned with obvious displeasure. It seemed that he would have to talk with the fool(Fayt) and his friends after all.

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Please Review, this is my first Star Ocean 3 fanfiction. I'd like to know what you think of it so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks a lot to those who reviewed, and to anyone who read the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Star Ocean 3 or anything from it. With that said, here's chapter 2.

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As Albel contemplated speaking with his 'friends', the king began to smile.

"Ah, there they are now." Airyglyph XIII said calmly, not at all concerned with the obvious look of rage on Albel's face.

Fayt headed for the throne, with Roger walking alongside him. Behind them Sophia followed, giving Albel several nervous glances as she and the others drew nearer.

"Maggot", Albel muttered, before staring slightly down at Fayt, asking gruffly, "What do you want fool?"

"Er…er…wondering why you haven't answered our calls. You _do _have the communicator, right?" Fayt asked.

"You mean the device that makes all that infernal racket? Of _course _I have it fool; I just choose to ignore it." Albel said with a sneer.

Fayt sighed, while Roger decided to speak up.

"A _real _man would answer calls from his friends." Roger stated, standing up straight, a smug look on his face.

Albel's gauntlet twitched as he locked eyes with Roger.

Fayt saw a dangerous gleam in Albel's eyes, which made him worry that Roger might be in danger of being maimed. Fayt quickly got Albel's attention. "Would you please come with us?" He asked desperately.

Albel, to Roger's immense relief, transferred his attention back to Fayt. "And _why _should I come with you?" He demanded.

"Um…well…" Fayt stuttered.

Albel snorted. "I don't feel like going anywhere with you, especially with easily startled _worms_." His gaze fell on Sophia's, and she sped off towards the stairs with a muffled shriek. Albel smirked, before brushing past Fayt and Roger, while also ignoring an amused chuckle from Woltar. _'Rotten old man…' _

Albel stalked out of the castle, and upon exiting, heard terrified screaming. Albel's hand shot immediately to his katana. There were several monsters terrorizing some of the residents from the city. Albel grinned wickedly as he approached the monsters, katana and gauntlet ready. Two battles in one day, how nice. With the conversation from before already leaving his mind, Albel rushed the monsters.

Two monsters were quickly destroyed with well aimed slashes from Albel's katana. The remaining three turned around to face Albel. The leftmost monster was dealt with by Albel's clawed gauntlet. The monster's body dropped in front of the other two, causing both to back up. They snarled angrily at Albel, and began to chase him.

Albel led the monsters around the city, wearing them down. Any citizen in the way ran in the opposite direction. When Albel's side was lightly scraped by one of the monsters, he decided to finish them off. Besides, by now most people were probably scared out of their minds. Sighing, Albel waited until the two monsters were side-by-side, before shooting an aura out of his gauntlet.

Albel turned away from the scorched bodies, sheathing his katana. "Pitiful…" He headed for the Airyglyph inn, deciding he'd stay there for the night. The next day he'd leave the city and head to the Kirlsa Training Facility, to see what his worthless subordinates were up to. Albel ignored the murmurs of people he passed by. He didn't have to wonder what they were talking about. Once inside the inn, Albel headed straight for the counter.

The innkeeper stiffened at the sight of the Black Brigade captain.

Albel ignored this reaction as he slapped some fol onto the counter. "I want a room for the night." He told the innkeeper in a semi weary voice.

The innkeeper nodded her head several times. "G…go right ahead… there's no one upstairs…"

Albel turned and went up the stairs, just wanting to sleep. Entering the empty room, he closed the door and locked it. As Albel did this, he wondered why he had even bothered to pay. Albel shrugged, as he slumped wearily on the room's bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Back at the counter, the innkeeper had just decided to count the fol. "Oh! He gave me too much…" She cast a nervous glance at the room's door. "Oh well…" She didn't dare try and knock on the door. Albel could be asleep, and the innkeeper didn't fancy finding out whether or not Albel killed those who disturbed him while trying to sleep.

Inside the room, Albel had a dreamless sleep, which was very rare for him. It beat having nightmares though.

Albel did, however, wake up in the middle of the night. He lay in bed, wondering why he had woken up. It wasn't very often that he got a good night's sleep. Albel suddenly found out why as two dark forms loomed over his bedside. Why couldn't he just get some sleep without worrying that someone might attack him?

Still half asleep, Albel reacted to the intruders. He rolled off the bed, wanting some distance between himself and his attackers. Albel kicked out sharply as he hit the floor, and was rewarded with a grunt of surprise. He immediately sprang to his feet and began dodging his shadowed opponents assults.

After dodging for awhile, Albel found that he couldn't shake off the intruders. Albel gave a frustrated sigh. His attacks seemed to be anticipated, so they didn't score any hits. Even though Albel didn't want to admit it, escape seemed to be the best option at the moment. He didn't have enough room to fight where he was. The thought was driven from his mind though, as one of his attackers tripped him. Albel rolled again, and sprang back to his feet, ruby eyes set on the door in front of him. If he could get out... A swift punch to Albel's gut, however, sent him reeling backwards. Off balance and staggering, another punch from one of the attackers sent him to the ground.

The fight ended abruptly when something heavy decided to drop down onto Albel. Surprised and breathing in sharp gasps, Albel felt his arms tied behind his back. The nerve of them! How dare someone do this to him! They'd pay for this... Albel lay silent, trying to formulate a plan, when he heard familiar voices speak.

"I don't think you should have jumped onto him like that." A women's voice scolded, while sounding amused at the same time.

"Ahh…he'll be fine. Besides, he wouldn't agree to come with us peacefully, right?" A man's voice asked.

There was a laugh. "I suppose not, but you know there are other ways. You could have broken his ribs." The women replied.

"Don't worry about it. I think his ribs are fine…" The man answered.

Albel was seething. It was the maggots, Mirage and Cliff! Albel thrashed angrily beneath Cliff's weight. "Damn you…maggot…get off!"

Cliff got up, and Albel leapt upright, snarling in frustration when he couldn't get his arms free. Albel left off trying to free himself and noticed that the room was dimly lit (by what he couldn't say). Albel glared across the room at the two Klausians smiling disarmingly at him.

"You'd better contact the ship before he manages to get free and cause trouble…" Cliff murmured to Mirage.

"Right." Mirage exited the room. She returned a few moments later, saying, "We'll be transported up momentarily."

Seeing that Mirage had shut the door and was now blocking it, hope for escape was gone. Albel realized then that he wouldn't be getting away. Deciding he couldn't do anything about it, he let loose a tirade of insults, most of which were aimed at Cliff and his intelligence level. Since Albel wasn't getting anything in response, the insults became progressively ruder, until Cliff decided to stuff a gag into his mouth.

Albel looked shocked for a moment, before he gave Cliff one of his most murderous glares. This caused Cliff to back up a step. "Scar-ee."

Within moments, all three were transported up to the ship, leaving behind a very confused innkeeper.

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And that's the end of chapter 2. Again, please review and tell me what you think. I'd appreciate it. I'll put up the next chapter as soon as I can.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you again for revewing, and thanks to anyone else who read chapter 2.

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Star Ocean 3

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Nel lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was still odd to be on a spacecraft, but as long as she had this room all to herself she would be content. Fayt's mention of a vacation had sounded good to Nel, especially when her queen told her to take one (she had been working very hard lately, and the queen refused to hear any kind of an excuse). Nel was also happy, since it seemed that Albel wouldn't be going with them. That was fine with her. Ever since the defeat of Luther, Albel had been harassing her. It was either insults or a sparring match. Nel had grown weary of it and was quite glad to agree to Fayt's idea of taking the group on vacation. Nel hadn't even given much thought to the short conversation she had with him a few days ago.

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Two days ago…

"Nel! We're going to get something from Elicoor II, we'll be back soon." Fayt said to Nel as he, Sophia, and Roger got into the transporter room.

"All right." Nel replied, wondering what they could possibly want to get. Surely they could get whatever it was on this ship? Shrugging, Nel walked off, deciding what she could do on this ship. There were still many things on board that she'd never seen before.

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Back to the present…

A knock rang out on her door. "What is it?" Nel called. Who would want to bother her? She had requested that no one try to talk to her until dinner time.

Fayt's voice answered. "Could you come out of there? We may need your help with something…"

"Coming…" Nel replied, and rose from her bed. She _had_ wanted a little more rest. As Nel opened the door, she hoped that Fayt didn't want her to do anything strenuous. The first thing Nel saw was Sophia standing next to Fayt. He had better not be thinking of asking her to distract Sophia again just so he could escape and get some peace and quiet. That had nearly driven Nel insane.

"Um… you may want your weapons…just in case…" Fayt said nervously.

"Why would I need them?" Nel asked uneasily. This didn't bode well.

"Well… Mirage and Cliff are coming back to the ship soon, and they're bringing Albel with them. And according to Mirage, he's in a bad mood. We're hoping you can come with us to meet them at the transporter room, just in case Albel decides to act up…" Fayt explained to Nel, worried about her reaction.

The only thing Nel really heard was that Albel was being brought on board, which meant that he was going on vacation with them. Her good mood vanishing fast, Nel asked cooly. "Why do you need _me_?"

"Um... just to make sure that Albel doesn't try to attack someone…I think he'd listen to you, since he's only decided to see you in the past couple months." Fayt replied.

"Maybe he likes you or something…" Sophia said cheerfully.

Nel gave Sophia a worried glance, wondering if she had hit her head again. Then, seeing that Fayt was waiting for an answer, Nel replied, "Fine, I'll go with you. Just let me get my weapons."

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As the three walked towards the transporter room, Nel kept on insisting that she was going with them just to make sure that everything went smoothly. Sophia kept saying otherwise. Nel really wondered if Sophia was all right...

Five minutes later, outside the transporter room…

Fayt, Nel and Sophia waited for Cliff, Mirage, and Albel to come out of the room. Nel continued to insist that she was only there to ensure that Albel wouldn't try anything (like injure someone).

Cliff and Mirage came out of the room suddenly, both very calm and seemingly happy. They were followed out by an irritated Albel.

Albel had managed to get the gag out of his mouth, but wasn't any closer at getting his arms free. Upon seeing Nel and her sorry attempts at hiding a smile, he snapped, "Something amusing you women?"

Nel stopped smiling and fixed Albel with a cold stare. "Nothing really, other than seeing you tied up like that. Can't you ever do anything peacefully?"

"Hmpf." Albel huffed, looking away.

Cliff threw a friendly arm around Albel's shoulder, ignoring Albel's scowling face, as he grinned widely. "Be nice now. You and Nel are _sharing_ a room, since there's too many people on board…"

Nel glared angrily at Cliff. She didn't want to share a room with _Albel_. It was _her _room!

"WHAT! Share a room with _her_?" Albel shouted, before whipping around suddenly to face Fayt and Sophia. "Think that's funny, do you maggots? _I'll_ give you something to laugh about!" Albel dashed at Fayt and Sophia, causing both to jump and run for their lives in the opposite direction.

Cliff thought this was highly amusing, as Albel still had his arms tied behind his back.

"Nel, would you please go and stop him before someone gets hurt?" Mirage asked calmly.

Nel merely nodded in acknowledgment, before heading in the direction Albel had taken. The look in her emerald eyes seemed to promise that Albel was in for some pain, and would regret what he was doing. Especially ruining her hopes for a nice and calm vacation.

Ten minutes and one Thunderflare spell later…

Albel lay in bed, wincing in pain as he waited for the temporary paralysis to wear off. He looked across the room at Nel, who was resting underneath the covers of her bed and smiling at him in faint amusement. Damn that women and her runeology. He'd make sure she wouldn't be smiling for much longer…

Meanwhile, outside the room…

Fayt and Cliff were loitering outside the room, speaking in quiet tones.

"You don't think Albel will hurt Nel, do you?" Fayt asked, casting a worried glance at the door.

"Ahh… don't worry about it. I have a hunch that everything will be just fine. You'll see in the morning. Besides, I think Nel would hurt him back if he ever tried everything." Cliff announced confidently.

"…" Fayt shook his head and walked off. "You and your hunches Cliff…"

Cliff followed, pouting. "What? What's wrong with my hunches?"

Later…early dawn…

Nel woke abruptly, cursing herself for falling asleep so easily in a room containing Albel. That wasn't one of the safest things to do. After this revelation, Nel noticed that it was difficult for her to breathe. She then realized that Albel was lying comfortably ontop of her. _'How long has he been there?' _Nel wondered.

A wicked smile appeared on Albel's face when he noticed that she was awake. He then smiled pleasantly down at Nel's furious face. "Morning Zelpher… comfortable?" His voice was unnervingly calm.

Nel blushed, the only thing on her mind was that she was glad she was under the bed covers. Nel regained her composure, and glared up at Albel. "Get off…I'm warning you…" She wheezed angrily, trying to punch Albel. That failed, since her arms were beneath the covers. _'Sneaky bastard...' _Nel thought as she continued to glare up at Albel.

Albel gave her an evil smirk. "Untie my arms." His smirk was quickly replaced with a pained expression as Nel had just decided to knee him. He glared back at Nel angrily. "Do that again… and you'll regret it…" He brought his face closer to Nel's, ruby eyes challenging emerald ones.

Nel tried unsuccessfully to get Albel off, before merely shifting uncomfortably. She had second thoughts about being beneath the covers (her arms could have been free, and she could have beat Albel up a bit. His arms _were_ tied up). Albel was breathing on her, and Nel decided she didn't like the look on his face. Looking away, Nel spoke after a moment. "…Fine, get off and I'll untie your arms."

Albel rolled off to the side, feeling slightly disappointed. _'Why would I be disappointed? I only wanted my arms untied…'_ Albel held still as he waited for Nel to untie his arms. Once she had, Albel flexed his right arm first, and then his left, making sure that it was working right. He then stretched gratefully, noticing that Nel was exiting the room. Albel followed, smirking when he noticed that Nel was blushing.

Roger approached the two in the hallway and blocked their way. He looked up at them and crossed his arms, smiling widely as he asked what he thought was an 'innocent' question. "So, did you guys do anything while you were in there?"

Nel stared in amazement at Roger, wondering if he meant what she thought he did. If it was, Nel wondered where the young menodix had heard of it. She'd immediately blame Cliff and Adray.

Albel, however, wasn't amused. His gauntleted arm shot out, grabbing Roger by the tail and lifting him up easily. "Mind your own business worm."

Roger smiled at them upside down. "You don't have to be shy about it..."

Albel smacked Roger over the head. "I'm warning you maggot..."

"When are you two going to get married?" Was Roger's next question.

Nel walked off, saying, "Just don't kill him..."

Albel leered evily at Roger as he proceeded to deal out punishment to the menodix.

Nel kept on walking, hoping that Albel would leave Roger with some brain cells. Maria had said there was going to be a meeting about vacation destinations...

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That's chapter 3! Please review and tell me what you thought about this one. I'll get the next chapter posted when I am able to.  



	4. Chapter 4

Thank you to eveyone who has been reviewing, I greatly appreciate it. I enyoy reading the reviews, as they help me know how I'm doing.

Disclaimer: No, I'm not any closer to owning anything from Star Ocean 3. Here's chapter 4!

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In the ship's conference room, Fayt and co. had assembled, and were now waiting for the two Elicoorians to arrive (and a certain young menodix). Only Fayt and Sophia seemed to be worried about Nel and the missing Roger. Maria just wanted them to show up so they could get going with their vacation plans. She needed everyone's input.

Minutes later, Nel entered the room, followed by Albel, who appeared to have been running. Both were unharmed, although Albel had an angry expression and was holding the limp form of Roger in one hand.

"See? Told ya they'd be fine." Cliff told Fayt triumphantly. Fayt sighed. "…"

Maria shook her head. "Albel, please put Roger down." It seemed there were going to be some minor problems, most involving Albel.

Albel frowned in disappointment, before dropping the menodix none to gently to the ground.

Nel sat down in a chair as far away from Albel as she could. Albel leaned against the wall nearest the door, feigning indifference. Roger lay prone on the ground, still unconscious.

Once everyone had settled down, Maria spoke up with a smile upon her lips. Everyone would enjoy Albel's reaction. He still had no idea why he had been brought aboard the ship.

"Since everyone is here now, we can…" Maria began, but was interrupted by Sophia.

"Where's Adray, Maria?" Sophia asked.

"He has some duties to attend to, so he is unable to come with us." Maria replied. She glanced around the room. "Any more questions?" Receiving no answer, Maria continued. "As I was saying, since everyone is here, we can now decide where we want to go on vacation. If you have an idea, please speak up." Maria hoped everything would run smoothly. She was worried that Albel might blow up on them all. His expression was hard to decipher.

Everyone in the room began to call out places they would like to go. Everyone, except for Maria, Roger (who was still out) and Albel.

Albel stared up at the ceiling in despair. "So_ that's_ why you've brought me here?" No response. Albel drew his katana and slashed the air around him. "Answer me worms!" No answer again. It took all of Albel's willpower_ not _to unleash his wrath on all of them. He sheathed the katana and closed his eyes, listening as the destinations dwindled down to a few choices.

Roger was awake by now, and seemed quite happy about the possible destinations.

Vanguard III

Earth

Gemity

Elicoor II

Hearing that his home planet was a possibility, Albel opened his eyes and growled. "We had better not go there; otherwise I'll have been brought here for nothing!" Once again, he was ignored. "Maggots…" Albel muttered sullenly.

Maria took a vote, and the choices were down to three.

Vanguard III

Earth

Elicoor II

After a heated argument about some possible problems with a vacation on Earth, another vote was taken. Only two choices remained.

Vanguard III

Elicoor II

Albel sighed unhappily, and began to pace. He was unsuccessfully trying to ignore Roger, who was making rude gestures at him from across the room. Apparently Roger hadn't learned his lesson. Before Albel could begin to form a pre-meditated murder of a certain young menodix, the rest of the group came to an agreement. Albel glanced at Maria as she spoke.

"So we won't have to keep arguing, we'll go to Vanguard III for the first half of vacation, then spend the rest on Elicoor II. Everyone's free to do whatever they'd like on the ship until we arrive at our destination. It will take approximately one week." Maria explained. She caught Fayt sneaking out, so she added. "_And_ _no _excessive Battle Simulator playing."

Fayt gave Maria a pout, as Sophia hurried over to him and latched onto his right arm. "Come on Fayt! You promised you'd go to the shop with me, remember?" With one last desperate look at Maria, he allowed Sophia to lead him away. His expression looked like he was being led to his death. No one seemed to be very sympathetic.

Albel stalked out of the room in a nasty mood, only momentarily amused at the sight of the fool (Fayt) being dragged off by the maggot (Sophia). Once they were out of sight, Albel's bad mood came back, and he proceeded to pace the ship. This made the crew members very nervous, especially when Albel cast evil looks their way as he passed by.

The other blue-haired fool (Maria) had said something about it taking a week to reach Vanguard III. Albel refused to stay that long on a spaceship surrounded by fools, worms, and maggots.

As he headed towards the transporter room, Albel overheard a crew member saying that the it was going to be shut off. Albel hurried to the room. That was his only hope for escape! Albel attempted to get into the room, only to be scolded harshly and sent away.

A minute later, loitering near the room, Albel saw two people exit. He sighed unhappily as the worms (Steeg and Marietta) told the fool (Maria) that the transporter had been successfully turned off, but would be ready to use in emergencies.

Albel resumed his prowl around the ship, amused that he was still scaring people and making them carry their weapons now.

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In the kitchen, Roger and Peppita were arguing over who would get to cook lunch. The chefs had left, not wanting to hear the banter.

Albel ignored them for the moment, intent on getting something to eat. He hadn't had dinner the night Cliff and Mirage decided to abduct him.

In the middle of an argument about height, Roger tripped and the mixing bowl he had been holding landed directly on Albel's head (Roger had been standing on a counter).

Fortunately for Roger, the mixing bowl only contained water. He and Peppita stifled giggles. Unfortunately for them, Albel wasn't remotely amused. He locked eyes with Roger, the ruby color seeming to promise excruciating pain upon capture. Albel dropped the mixing bowl to the ground, before approaching the pair slowly, his hair dripping wet.

Peppita and Roger exchanged quick glances, before they ran off screaming with an extremely furious Albel pursuing them.

"Just you wait little maggots! You'll regret this!" Albel roared after the two small retreating figures.

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Cliff and Mirage were just passing by, and happened to see Peppita and Roger rush by. They had terrified looks stamped on their faces, as if a demon were pursuing them. Albel ran by next, his hair dripping wet, wearing a look of pure malice on his face. Cliff glanced over to Mirage casually. "Should we stop Albel from murdering those two?"

"Only if he actually tries to kill them," Mirage answered.

Seconds later, a frightened, high-pitch shriek rang out.

Cliff and Mirage looked at each other, before racing towards the source of the scream.

Inside the conference room, Roger was huddled beneath the table, avoiding Albel's searching katana. Albel was grinning evilly, apparently enjoying Roger's cries. He hoped he may even get a few scratches on the menodix, if not more.

Cliff quickly got Albel's attention by aiming a quick punch at him, while Mirage got Peppita and Roger out of the immediate area. That left Cliff alone with a murderous-looking Albel. "Uhh… maybe you should go take a bath or something?" Cliff suggested, not relaxing, just in case Albel decided to attack him. It seemed very possible at the moment.

Albel snorted and sheathed his katana. Giving Cliff an irritated glance, he walked off, a muttered "Maggot" audible.

Cliff relaxed, surprised that Albel hadn't fought with him. Maybe the incident at the inn was still bugging Albel, and he was merely taking time to plan his revenge. Shrugging, Cliff left the conference room, deciding he'd go see what Mirage was up to.

Albel wandered around the ship, wondering where he could find a room with a bathtub. He really needed a break from everyone and everything. After frightening a few more crewmembers, Albel found a rather large room with an enormous bathtub (It was more like a hot tub, which could fit 2-3 people). Albel fiddled around with the tub's handles, and soon managed to fill the tub with water, and bubbles (Albel had no idea where the bubbles had come from).

Albel began unwrapping his hair ties as he glanced around the room. Albel hoped no one would wonder where he was. _'Who would care anyway?' _Albel thought bitterly. He decided that his gauntlet would come off last.

Outside the room, further down the hall…

Nel walked along slowly, going over the possibilities of what she could do on the spaceship _other _than avoiding Albel. Nel stretched wearily. All she needed right now was a nice, long, relaxing bath, and a very peaceful long rest in bed before deciding how to deal with Albel. Nel's hand rested on the door's handle (She knew this room had a great bathtub that was very nice to relax in for a long period of time). Nel quickly checked up and down the hall. Satisfied that no one was there, Nel opened the door. The last thing she needed was for Albel to find her taking a bath…

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Please review on any aspect of the story, it can be about anything as long as there is no flaming. I'd love to know what you guys think about this story. The next chapter will be up within a couple of days, as long as I have no internet problems.


	5. Chapter 5

My computer kept shutting down as I typed this chapter, so that's the reason for the delay in updating. This chapter is mostly just with Albel and Nel. Some of the other characters will show up towards the end.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Star Ocean 3 and never will.

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Nel entered the room, relived that no one had spotted her. Nel sighed, she really needed to relax and stop worrying. Nel didn't look at the bathtub at first as she walked over to the sink. Nel was about to proceed taking off her clothing when she noticed a familiar clawed gauntlet on the sink. It kind of looked like Albel's…but that would mean… A faint blush came to Nel's face as her suspicions were confirmed when a calm, amused voice spoke.

"Evening Zelpher...care to join me?"

Nel turned around to face the speaker. It was Albel, and he was resting comfortably in the tub with a wicked grin plastered on his face.

_'He took my bathtub!' _ "I think I'll pass." Nel said curtly, bringing a frown to Albel's face.

"If you want the tub, you can have it…" Albel suggested, half-rising out of the bathtub.

"No!" Nel exclaimed, looking away very quickly. What was _wrong_ with him?

Albel settled back down, still grinning evilly, even more so when he saw Nel's blushing face. He then went about cleaning his hair. "Leave then fool." Was his crisp reply.

Nel watched as Albel attempted to clean his hair throughly with one arm, his left arm useless. Nel sighed inwardly. This would take _forever_, and she _really_ wanted a bath. Thinking she would probably regret this, Nel spoke up. "Do you…need help? With your hair, that is…" Seeing a faint smirk appear on Albel's face made Nel wonder if she should just leave the room as fast as she could. "I just want you out of the bathtub so that I can use it sooner."

"Fine…" Albel said grudgingly, leaving off scrubbing his head and holding still.

Nel approached cautiously, suspicious. Albel hadn't even tried to argue with her. Normally he wouldn't let anyone help him with _anything_, especially not her (unless it were to heal an injury every once and awhile). Nel decided that she didn't like the lingering smile on Albel's face. She sat down on the tub's edge, and gave Albel's hair a sharp tug to get his attention. "Try anything and I'll electrocute you." She warned.

Albel slumped in disappointment as Nel attacked his hair with shampoo and water furiously. _'He **was **planning something.'_ Nel thought angrily.

It took longer than Nel expected to get Albel's hair clean (there was so much of it!). Albel had gotten bored and amused himself by draining the tub slowly, much to Nel's displeasure(she dealt with it because she really wanted the tub). Albel managed to drain the tub until there were only bubbles left, but by then Nel was done.

Nel stood up and headed for the door as Albel made attempts to get out of the bathtub. She exited the room, ignoring Albel's parting remark.

"You don't need to be so shy Zelpher. I would've shared the tub with you…"

Nel stalked pass Cliff and Fayt in the hall, both of whom gave her a wide berth. Nel shut herself in her room, fuming.

Half hour later…

Albel walked out of the bathroom wearing clean clothing (He had had to clean them himself). He was walking back to his room slowly, wondering if Nel had gone there.

Five minutes later…

Albel was glaring vehemently at the door, as if trying to make it open through sheer will. Nothing happened, much to Albel's disappointment. He frowned in annoyance, and then began to bang on the door. "Open up this door Zelpher!" He was about to add several more statements, including a few well placed insults, when the door opened.

Nel stood in the doorway and crossed her arms. "You want in?" She asked coolly.

Abel glared at her, equally as cool in his reply. "It's my room as well…fool."

Nel remained where she was. "I'll want in the room when I come back. I don't want any trouble from _you_ Albel. If you lock me out, you'll face the consequences…" She brushed past Albel carrying a clean set of clothing and a towel.

Albel scowled after Nel's retreating figure, before entering the room. The door closed after him of its own accord. Albel glanced around the room, wondering what would annoy Nel the most when she came back. He could…

A.)Put the pillows and sheets on one bed.

B.)Hide in the dark and jump Nel when she came in the room.

Or

C.)Wait until Nel was asleep before jumping her and getting her to spar with him.

Albel lay on his bed and closed his eyes. He liked the sound of the last idea. It would infuriate Nel immensely, since she would have been calm and relaxed.

Nel came back fairly fast, as though she were worried that Albel would have locked her out of the room. Nel entered, half-expecting Albel to leap out at her from the shadows. Instead, Albel was lying on his bed seemingly fast asleep and the lights were still on. Nel frowned, before crawling into bed and turning out the room's lights. She still didn't trust Albel, and made sure to wait and see if he'd try anything.

Albel opened his eyes after a few minutes had passed, and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room. Albel glanced over at Nel's sleeping form, smiling faintly. This was going to be _fun_. Albel got up and snuck stealthily over to Nel's bedside, leaning over her so that he was looking at her face. She looked…peaceful. Albel smirked. _'Not for long…'_ "Nel?" Albel whispered, pleased when she didn't react in any way. Albel leaned closer, until he was almost nose to nose with Nel.

Before Albel could 'wake' Nel up, he felt cold steel being pressed against his throat. Albel froze, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He had been almost one-hundred precent sure that Nel had been asleep.

Nel's eye's opened, and they blazed furiously up at Albel's.

Albel was still face to face with Nel, but didn't dare try to move away. He wouldn't put it past her to try and slit his throat.

The dagger increased in pressure and Albel took the hint. He straightened up and backed away. Nel followed him out of bed, her left hand still holding the dagger to Albel's throat. Albel was backed into the far wall as Nel flipped on the lights. Albel remained silent as he tried to decide what to do about this new development. He hadn't expected her to wake up right away like this or to be so angry.

A few tense moments went by before Nel finally spoke, her voice laced with fury. "_What_ did you think you were _doing_ Nox?"

Albel started to bring his gauntlet up, but halted midway when Nel prodded his throat meaningfully with the dagger. Albel huffed in annoyance, then said, "I was just going to wake you up. I wasn't going to _do_ anything other than that…"

Nel didn't withdraw her dagger, still looking extremely angry. "_Just_ to wake me _up! _"

Albel saw that he may have gotten Nel too angry. He just needed to initiate the fight now and hope that Nel wouldn't kill him when she figured out what was going on.

Nel narrowed her eyes. Albel was up to something, she could tell.

Without warning, Albel lashed out with his gauntlet, knocking the dagger aside. He then went after Nel, who had leapt backwards in surprise. Maybe she'd be less angry if she got tired out...

Nel blocked several swipes from Albel's gauntlet, before realizing what he was doing. Sparring. He actually had the nerve to pick a fight with her. What. The. Hell! That was why he had 'woken' her up? "You bastard!" Nel yelled angrily, drawing her other weapon and rushing the Glyphian, who merely smirked and sidestepped the attack, while blocking another with his gauntlet.

Albel dodged a few more attacks, still smirking. "Come on fool, you can do better than that, can't you?"

Nel leapt back and quickly cast a spell, launching it straight at him.

Albel dove behind a chair as it froze from the spell Nel had thrown. He peered around the corner of the chair. "That's better Zelpher."

Meanwhile, outside the room…

Sophia had managed to get Fayt to go with her to the kitchen for a midnight snack. She clutched his arm as they passed Albel and Nel's room, which had muffled yelling and clashes of steel upon steel emanating from within. "Are they…fighting?" Sophia asked uncertainly, eyeing the door nervously.

"I wouldn't get involved. If we do, we might end up being attacked by both of them. Let's keep going. They won't kill each other…I think." Fayt told Sophia in as semi-confident voice.

There was a loud crash and an angry yell.

Both Sophia and Fayt hurried along the hall quickly, neither wanting to be caught eavesdropping.

45 minutes later…

Cliff, Mirage, and Maria were walking through the hall as they headed for the kitchen. They were going there to make sure that the chefs had control of the kitchen, and not Peppita and Roger. Once they were done, they would move on to the command deck to make sure everything was running smoothly. All three stopped dead in their tracks when they reached Albel and Nel's room. They all listened with increasing unease as the conversation in the room escalated.

"Wench! What was that for?"

"You deserved it! You were the one wanting a fight!"

"Shut up women! If that's how you want to play, then fine!"

Sounds of a scuffle, then…

"Ahh! Watch it!"

"Not likely fool! Take this!"

There was a loud thud, then…

"That's _it_! You're going to get it Nox!"

"Come and get me then fool!"

Another crash…

"You…I'll kill you!" Came Albel's furious roar.

There was more crashing and yells from both combatants.

Cliff, Mirage, amd Maria exchanged glances, before Maria opened the door manually with a password. Cliff and Mirage rushed inside and seperated Albel and Nel as quickly as possible. Both had still been fighting furiously with one another.

Both fighters were breathing heavily and covered in scratches, slashes and bruises. Nel's clothing was pretty much destroyed, while Albel's were in slightly better condition. Their eyes made contact breifly, before both slumped wearily, not saying a word.

Cliff and Mirage led Albel and Nel away to a medical room, and were glad that neither were protesting at where they were being taken. Albel and Nel just seemed relived that the fight had been stopped.

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So what did you think about this chapter? Please review, I'd really like to get them and know what you guys think about this story. The sixth chapter will be up soon, along with a new summary of the story. If my computer decides that it wants to keep turning off on me, the updating will take a bit longer. Again, please review, I'd appreciate it greatly.


	6. Chapter 6

Yay! Reviews! Thank you! That makes me really happy! I had to use another computer to type this chapter, since mine wouldn't connect to the internet. I also had two teachers spring art-type assignments on me and one is due Monday. That's why I haven't updated sooner. Anyway, here's chapter six!

Disclaimer: No, nothing from Star Ocean 3 is mine.

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Ten minutes later in the medical room…

Albel lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling with a scowl. The decorations in the room were beginning to bug him. They made the room seem too…too _happy_. Albel heaved a sigh and turned onto his side. The big maggot (Cliff) had told him he was supposed to stay in bed while he 'recuperated.' Albel had argued fiercely with Cliff, but had stopped when the blonde Klausian left and slammed the door shut.

On the opposite side of the room, Nel lay beneath the covers of her bed, asleep.

Albel frowned. He hadn't meant for the fight with Nel to escalate to such a dangerous level. His injuries were minor compared to her's, which had been more numerous. They would take longer to heal. Albel had been surprised when the maggots and the fool (Cliff, Mirage, and Maria) hadn't confiscated his gauntlet. Albel glanced over at Nel. Maybe he should apologize? Albel turned over onto his other side. No, Nel probably wouldn't listen to him…she'd probably just try to injure him instead…

While Albel pondered what he should do, the bed he was laying on shifted. Albel glanced at what had disturbed his train of thought. It was the worm (Roger), who had decided that it was just fine to sit on the bed. Albel sat up and narrowed his eyes. Roger had an annoyingly happy expression. "What do you want worm?" Albel demanded, staring threatningly down at the menodix.

Roger crossed his arms. "You should apologize to Nel. A _real_…" Roger was cut off as Albel seized the front of his tunic.

"You had better not say anything to do with what a real man would do. Unless, of course, you don't care about your tail…" Albel said icily, making Roger's mouth snap shut on what he had been about to say. Albel gave the menodix a quick shove, causing him to topple off the bed.

Roger struggled upright and stuck out his tongue. He hurried over to the room's exit, calling. "Apologize!" Roger shot out of the room like a rocket when Albel made as if to get out of bed and give chase. When Roger was gone, Albel settled back down, smirking faintly.

Albel sighed again, and looked across the room at Nel. She was awake and watching him in silence. Albel looked away quickly, his mind racing. He needed to say _something_ to her. Albel sat up suddenly, causing Nel to twitch. He hoped that Nel wouldn't hit him with any runology before he could even speak to her. Albel looked at the top of Nel's head, saying, "I guess we got carried away…" Albel lay back down, murmuring, "Sorry", in a quiet voice, but loud enough for Nel to hear.

Nel wondered if she had heard right_. 'Albel…apologizing? No, he must have said something else…but…'_ Nel shook her head and settled back in bed more comfortably. She wondered if Albel was all right. It wasn't like him to sound apologetic at all. Nel drifted to sleep, somehow knowing that Albel wouldn't try anything.

In the conference room…

Maria, Fayt, Sophia, Mirage, Cliff, and Roger were discussing what they should do to occupy Albel and Nel for the next five and a half days (mostly so that they wouldn't try to kill each other again).

After many ideas that were either inappropriate or would never work, Cliff spoke up. "Maybe we should just keep Albel locked up somewhere?" Silence. Cliff looked around at those assembled. "What? Isn't he the one who's starts the fights?" Cliff added.

"I guess you have a point…we could keep him in solitary confinement …but wouldn't that just make him even angrier?" Mirage replied.

"He'll calm down eventually." Maria stated. "We can move him tomorrow. His injuries should be healed by then."

Roger had snuck out of the room by then, so he didn't hear Maria telling the others not to mention anything they had talked about to Albel. Roger hurried along the hallway, smothering gleeful laughter. Albel wouldn't be able to pick on him for the rest of the trip to Vanguard III! It took Roger five minutes to reach the medical room, but the menodix was intent on annoying Albel while he was still recovering. After all, Albel wouldn't be able to beat him up for the time being.

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Albel narrowed his eyes again when he saw Roger swagger into the room. Hadn't the worm had enough of a beating? "What do you want little worm?" Albel asked evilly, wanting to terrorize Roger.

Roger merely stood next to Albel's bed, grinning widely. Turning, the menodix checked to see if Nel was watching. She was. Roger turned back to Albel, a superior look on his face, but still didn't speak.

"If you have something to say then say it worm!" Albel snapped irritably. He suddenly imagined himself throttling the menodix.

Roger crossed his arms. "Guess what? Fayt and the others decided that you should be put in 'solitary confinement' for the rest of the trip to Vanguard III. It's mostly so you won't try and kill anyone. Oh! You're supposed to be moved, tomorrow!" Pleased with the stunned expression on Albel's face, Roger quickly fled the room, just in case Albel decided to attack him.

Albel didn't move, merely digesting the information he had just heard. Lock him up would they? Albel slumped in bed, too weary to think or even be angry at the moment. When he finally drifted to sleep, Albel didn't notice that Nel was watching him silently.

Nel settled back in bed, wondering if Albel would try and avoid everyone for the rest of the trip to Vanguard III. She doubted that Albel could hide somewhere on the ship. There was probably some kind of tracking device that could find him. Nel drifted to sleep, hoping that Albel wouldn't wake up and try to murder any of the crew members in their sleep.

Several hours later, around five A.M…

Nel awoke with a start, and quickly glanced over at Albel's bed. No one was there, but it didn't look like there had been a struggle…Nel got out of bed and changed into one of the pairs of clothing she had brought with her. It was a good thing she had decided to bring so many sets with her (in case a certain Wicked decided to destroy them one by one). Nel grabbed her weapons and another pair of clothing (she might find Albel terrorizing someone in their pajamas).

Nel exited the room and walked along the spaceship's hallways, not bumping into anyone. _'Everyone must still be asleep…' _Nel checked almost all of the ship, when she heard something coming from further down the hall.

Inside the transporter room...

Albel poked at random buttons, hoping that doing so would make the machine become functional. Albel wondered if he should have woken Nel up. He jabbed at a few more buttons. No, she'd probably just try to stop him, and be happy that he was going to be locked up somewhere. Albel's expression darkened. Fine, if no one wanted him around, he'd just leave. Everyone else probably wouldn't notice or even really care. Albel was about to take out his katana and attack the machine, when a voice spoke.

"**Stand by please. Transporting will commence momentarily.**"

Albel smirked in satisfaction. He had gotten it to work! As the doors began to shut there was a yell. "ALBEL!" He turned around just in time to see Nel jump into the room before the doors closed. "What are you doing here women?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Nel demanded, glancing around the room.

Albel was about to reply, when both he and Nel were transported from the ship. They reappeared on solid ground, in a land that looked unfamiliar.

Eight A.M. on the ship…

"What do you mean Albel and Nel are gone! Where are they?" Mirage demanded to a nearby crew member.

"They…they're not on the ship, and Maietta said that there had been transporter activity a few hours ago…" The crew member replied nervously.

"Then find out where they went." Cliff suggested.

"We won't be able to do that right away. One of them forced the transporter on." The crew member answered.

"Any guess at where they could have gone?" Fayt asked.

"Well…they probably ended up back on Elicoor II. We can't be sure though." The crew member said.

"Well, what do we do now? Albel has kind of screwed up our vacation plans." Cliff asked.

"We should find them. After all, Nel's with him. I think she really wanted to go on vacation too." Fayt replied.

"I suppose…" Cliff said. Then, he began to smile mischeviously. "Or maybe we should just go on vacation and then go back and look for them? So they can have some time…_alone_?"

Fayt shook his head as Sophia spoke up. "They could be in _danger_! We need to go find them before we even think about vacationing!"

Cliff pouted as Maria added, "I agree." She turned around to face another crew member. "Try and figure out where Albel and Nel are. Keep us up to date!"

The crew member saluted and hurried off.

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Nel gasped as the snow's icy wind buffeted her. Nel glared angrily at Albel as she shivered. "_Great_ Albel, just great. You couldn't just stay on the ship could you? You had to get off it, didn't you? What are we supposed to do _now_?"

Albel shrugged indifferently. "No one told you to come with me. You could have stayed on the ship."

"You would have been alone then. Were you planning on letting yourself freeze?" Nel asked.

Albel looked away. "No, I wasn't. How was _I_ supposed to know where I was going to end up? Besides, it didn't seem like anyone wanted me on the ship anymore…"

"…because you'd keep starting fights. If you hadn't started that fight with me, neither of us would be _here_ right now!" Nel scolded, indicating the snow all around them.

Albel continued looking away, not answering. Both he and Nel held still as another gust of wind whipped by. "Well, what do we do now?" Nel reiterated.

"Find some kind of shelter and get a fire going." Albel paused as another gust passed by. "…once this blizzard dies down, we can try and figure out where we are.' Albel began to walk through the snow, seeming to ignore the cold. Nel followed close behind, not wanting to get lost and be alone in the middle of a blizzard.

Albel spotted something in the distance a few minutes later, and soon he and Nel were standing in front of a half-buried cave. Albel went inside first, Nel practically running in after him.

The interior of the cave was small, but was much warmer than in the biting breeze.

Nel sat down as far as she could from the cave's entrance, still shivering. Albel stood nearby, staring out at the raging blizzard. Nel looked up at him. "Do you think you could look for some firewood? Or is that too hard for you?"

Albel looked as if he wanted to argue, but then merely left the cave, grumbling. "Fine."

Nel watched him go before dozing off slightly, wondering what was wrong with her life. Out of all the people she could have been stuck with, why did it have to be Albel?

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There! So, what did you think about this chapter? Please review and tell me what you thought about it. It can be about anything. I double-spaced the paragraphs this time (I think), and it would be nice to know if that makes reading it easier. I really do appreciate the reviews. I have a 4-day weekend coming up, so I'll defiantly update before next Monday (10/23).


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to those who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Here's chapter 7!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star Ocean 3.

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Nel shivered in the winter winds' chill. She moved further into the cave, away from the entrance. Nel's teeth chattered. Albel had been gone for over an hour, looking for anything that remotely resembled firewood. Nel began to wonder if Albel had either abandoned her or just froze to death in the blizzard (Neither of them were exactly dressed adequately for this weather). Nel glanced anxiously out the cavern entrance. All she could see was snow.

A few more minutes passed, before Nel thought she saw a dark form in the raging blizzard. It turned out to be Albel, who entered the cave limping. _'With no firewood.'_ Nel noted.

Completely ignoring Nel, Albel slumped down onto the ground a few feet away from Nel.

Nel frowned slightly, still shivering as a gust of wind buffeted her. Turning her gaze on Albel, Nel asked, "So Albel…find any firewood?"

"…"

"Albel?" Nel asked a little more loudly as she stood up.

Albel shifted so that he could look up at Nel. "Silence fool! Why don't you go outside?"

Nel noticed that Albel was breathing heavily, but attempting to mask it. "Are you all right?" She asked.

Albel scrunched up defensivly, growling, "Stay away from me…"

Nel rolled her eyes. "Quiet." She knelt next to Albel and spotted what was wrong. There was a large gash on Albel's left leg. "You're injured." Nel stated, sounding almost concerned.

"What of it?" Albel demanded, glaring at Nel.

"Let me heal it before it gets infected." Nel huffed, reaching towards the injury.

Albel avoided her and stood up, gritting his teeth as he moved away from Nel. Albel lowered himself to the ground again, bracing his back against the cave wall, flinching visibly as he did.

Nel put her hands on her hips and frowned again. Albel was now breathing in and out sharply. "What happened? Did you get into a fight on the way back?"

Albel gave her a sideways glance. "…" His expression was unreadable.

"Fine, don't tell me. Lay down." Nel said in an authoritive voice, pointing to the ground.

Albel snorted and remained where he was. "Don't start ordering me around women!" He wanted to keep _some_ of his dignity. Albel didn't really feel like telling Nel that it hurt to move.

Nel crossed her arms and stared down icily at Albel, not seeming very impressed with his statement.

Albel stiffened in alarm when Nel came closer to him. "S…Stay away from me…!" Albel gasped as Nel grabbed his gauntlet and heaved backwards. Albel fell forwards with a grunt of pain and a muffled curse. "Ahh! The hell's your problem _wench_?" He accented the last word as Nel sprang back a few feet.

Nel wondered why Albel hadn't gotten up and tried to murder her yet. He surely wouldn't let anyone get away with doing that to him, would he? Nel was surprised when Albel merely glanced over sideways at her in silence. "What?" Nel asked nervously, wondering if he were up to something.

Albel heaved an exaggerated sigh and looked away, resting his head on the ground. "Were you planning on _just_ shoving me to the ground, or were you going to heal my injuries too?"

Nel approached him cautiously. "I thought you didn't want me to help you?"

Albel lay prone on the ground. "…"

"Fine." Nel said, and knelt next to him, casting a healing spell with her runology. The gash on Albel's left leg disappeared within moments. Nel took a moment to recover, before examining Albel's back. Grumbling, Nel tugged Albel's hair ties sharply to get his attention.

There was a snarl of pain, then a strained and annoyed voice. "What the_ hell_ do you think you're _doing_ Zelpher?"

"Were you planning on telling me about these slashes on your back? _What did you fight_?" Nel demanded, ignoring Albel's subtle movements to release his hair ties. "Well?"

"…Some type of wingless dragon, but it moved faster than I thought…it caught me off guard…" Albel murmured. He smiled faintly. "I killed it before I came back here." Albel paused. "I didn't see any trees…only a stump or two that were frozen over."

Nel sighed and began to heal the slashes. "Hold still." A half a minute later, the wounds were healed over, leaving only faint scars. Nel leaned wearily against the cavern wall, as Albel sat up.

"Where should we go? We could be on a frozen island for all I know…" Albel complained.

"…"

"Something to say fool?" Albel muttered half-heartedly.

Nel glared frostily at him.

"What?" Albel asked.

"Ungrateful bastard." Nel muttered, pleased when she saw Albel stiffen. Then, she added. "It doesn't hurt to be thankful every once and awhile."

"Bah!" Albel looked away, but Nel heard his quiet undertone of "Thanks…"

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"Zelpher…hey!" Albel's voice said quietly.

"Mmm…what?" Nel asked sleepily, opening her eyes slightly.

Albel tilted his head so that he could see Nel out of the corner of his eyes. He was smiling slightly.

Nel sighed. "What do you want?" Why couldn't she sleep in peace?

"Nothing much. Just wondering why you've been squeezing me for the past hour or so…" Albel replied, his smile widening when he saw Nel realize what he was saying.

Nel saw that she was pressed up against Albel's back, her right arm squeezing Albel's lower chest. Apparently she had moved while asleep to try and stay warm.

Blushing furiously, Nel broke away, shivering almost immediately as a gust of chilly wind hit her. She dropped back to the ground, but well away from Albel.

Albel turned onto his side so that he was facing Nel. "What's the matter Zelpher? Aren't you cold?" This was accompanied by a wicked grin.

Nel glared at the smiling Glyphian and sat up. "Of course I'm cold!" Nel paused, and then added. "It's your fault you know."

Albel sat up as well and leaned against the cave wall, seeming unperturbed. "What do you want _me_ to do about it fool?"

Nel got up and walked to the back part of the cave, poking at the wall in silence. "…"

Albel got up slowly. "Nothing to say Zelpher?"

Nel turned around, a faint smile on her face, but still didn't say anything. "…"

Albel frowned, wondering what Nel was up to. _'She better speak up soon…'_

Nel looked away, hiding a bigger smile. Albel was going to help them get out of this cavern. "I _was_ going to ask you to go outside again, but since you nearly got yourself killed, I don't think it would be a good idea..."

Albel's frown turned into a scowl. "Just what are you implying women?"

Nel shrugged nonchalantly. "Actually, you'd probably freeze if you went out again. That wouldn't be very helpful…"

Albel's clawed gauntlet twitched. "Are you saying that I'm weak?"

"I don't know…am I?" Nel asked innocently, which infuriated Albel even more.

"You are!" Albel snarled after a moment, rushing towards Nel with his gauntlet poised to strike.

Nel waited until the last moment, before she dodged. She had a good view of Albel's shocked face as he sailed by. _'Didn't expect that, did you?'_

Albel kept going until his gauntlet struck the cave wall, breaking a large hole in it. Albel recovered and spun, pulling out his katana from its sheathe. He pursued Nel around the cave several times.

Nel got bored of being chased and stopped, pulling out her daggers in time to block a downwards strike from Albel's katana. Nel was forced backwards until her back was against the wall of the cave. She looked at Albel and said as calmly as she could. "If you haven't noticed…you opened some kind of path…" Nel smiled when Albel withdrew, looking confused.

Albel backed away, before glancing over his shoulder at the hole in the back of the cave. He made that hole with his gauntlet? Snorting, Albel sheathed his katana and turned back to Nel. "Fool! You knew something was there, didn't you?"

Nel put her daggers away and walked past Albel. "Yes. I did. I wouldn't have been able to break it open though." She didn't see Albel's frown. "Let's go. It's better than waiting here to freeze."

Albel cast a glance at the cavern entrance. The blizzard still hadn't let up. _'Damn.'_ Sighing unhappily, Albel followed Nel into the previously covered tunnel.

As they walked, the tunnel began to get darker and darker.

Albel let out a short laugh when neither of them could see anything. "Hah! Now what Zelpher? How are we supposed to see?"

"…"

Albel frowned. "Zelpher?" He asked. A faint light appeared, and Albel drew near it.

Nel was holding a rock in her hand, which was giving off the faint glow. She appeared to be surprised.

Albel circled around Nel and peered over her shoulder at the rock. "What's that?" He asked, drawing a small gasp from Nel.

"A…lightstone…Fayt left it lying out…I took it. I…forgot I had it with me. I don't have to use runology now!" Nel replied, sounding happy.

Albel shrugged. "…"

"Fine, don't say anything." Nel snapped and walked off, leaving Albel to hurry after her.

------------------

Back on the ship…

"Have you learned anything new?" Maria asked.

Marietta glanced up from her computer. "Not really, but it _will _be hard to tell where they transported to."

"Why's that?" Cliff asked.

"Well, they _did_ force the transporter on…" Marietta replied.

Maria crossed her arms. "Is there any way to tell where they ended up?"

"There aren't many places to transport to, so it's likely that they ended up back on Elicoor II." Steeg answered from across the room.

"Is there anyway to pinpoint their exact position?" Mirage asked.

Marietta shook her head. "We'd need to be closer to the planet, but even then we couldn't guarantee finding their exact location. If either Nel or Albel had a communicator with them, we may be able to trace that, but…"

"…But?" Maria prompted.

"But there could be a chance that the signal would be scrambled, incoherent or non-existent." Steeg answered.

"Will we still be able to go on vacation once we find them?" Sophia asked, obviously not understanding the dilemma.

"_If_ we find them." Roger piped up, seeming to only be concerned about Nel and not caring whether they found Albel or not.

Cliff stretched. "Can we get moving then? I'd really like to get going on that vacation…"

"We all do Cliff." Fayt replied.

Maria turned to the crew members watching her. "Set course for Elicoor II." She ordered.

"Roger." Marietta said.

The ship turned around, heading back to Elicoor II.

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Please review and tell me what you thought about this. Any type of comment would be great. The next chapter might not get up until next weekend. I have to see how much homework I'll get (_and_ if my computer will be nice to me or not). Anyway, please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Yay! Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I'm very happy people are reading this story. And after a few problems with my computer, here's chapter 8!

Disclaimer: Nope, nothing has changed; I still don't own Star Ocean 3.

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Albel and Nel were arguing with each other again. They had hit a fork in the cavern's tunnel, and were now trying to figure out which path to take. Both ways led to smaller tunnels.

"We _can't_ split up! What if there are monsters in one of them?" Nel demanded.

"It doesn't matter to me. I'll destroy anything that gets in my way!" Albel scoffed.

"Oh! Like how you dealt with that dragon earlier?" Nel asked, smiling.

"I'll be ready this time fool!" Albel snapped back.

Nel ignored him and entered the left most tunnel. "Well, _I'm_ going this way."

Albel stubbornly stayed put, even when he could only see a dim light coming from the tunnel Nel had decided to explore. Albel wasn't going to lower himself as to follow _her _orders. Besides, Nel would have to come back and get him if she found an exit. She would, right?

Not a moment later, there was a short, surprised cry.

Albel whipped out his katana and dashed towards the faint light. Soon, he emerged into a fairly large cavern, much like the first one. Albel immediately went over to Nel, who was staring at something. Albel grabbed one of her arms with his gauntlet. "Hey! Zelpher! What is it?"

Nel gave Albel an incredulous look. "You didn't notice it when you came in here?"

"Notice what?" Albel asked, sheathing his katana.

Nel shook her head and pointed in the direction she had been staring.

Albel glanced in the direction, but didn't make a sound.

There was an enormous dragon sleeping on the ground in the back of the cavern. It was bluish-white in color and seemed to look like it was made out of crystal.

Albel looked at Nel again. "So what of it?"

"It's…a…dragon." Nel said, annoyed that Albel could be so calm.

Albel shrugged and turned away. "We can't get out this way. Let's go."

Nel followed Albel at a distance. Then, she thought she heard breathing. "A…Albel…"

"What?" Albel asked, turning around. Why had Nel stopped walking? He then saw that the crystal-like dragon was awake and poised to attack. "Move!" Albel yelled, drawing his katana again.

Nel dodged to the side as the dragon let loose a fireball that was made out of fire and ice.

Albel ran around the dragon to attack it from behind. Why had the dragon woken up? They hadn't made that much noise, had they? The crystal dragon didn't seem to notice Albel's movements, until its tail whipped around towards him. "Damn!" Albel dropped to the ground as the tail passed over head. Albel leapt back up and slashed the dragon several times.

The crystal dragon was furious now, and proceeded to chase Albel. Nel prepared to use her runology against the dragon.

Albel swore again as he dodged another fiery blast. Albel wasn't able to counter attack the dragon because it kept launching attack after attack. He saw Nel at the far end of the cave, trying to hit the dragon with runology. "Stop fool! Do you want the dragon to go after you as well?"

Nel yelled something, but Albel couldn't understand what she was saying over the dragon's roars.

"What?" Albel gasped out as the dragon's tail hit him in the side, knocking him to the ground.

The crystal dragon was ready to breathe fiery flames onto one of the intruders in its cavern, when it was hit with a barrage of ice and thunder runology. The dragon glared at Nel, who stood in front of Albel, in its way. The dragon roared.

Nel, in response, hit it with several more attacks, causing the dragon to rear up on its hind legs.

Albel was sufficiently recovered by now, and got back up to deal the dragon the finishing blow with his gauntlet and katana.

The dragon toppled to the ground, and let out one last furious roar before it lay dead.

Both Nel and Albel were panting, relieved that the fight was over. Both exchanged glances in silence, before exiting the cavern. They reemerged into the tunnel with the two other passages. Nel and Albel took the tunnel they hadn't explored yet. As they walked, both wondered where this tunnel led, and hoped that it would be an exit.

After fifteen minutes of walking, Albel and Nel entered another cavern, this one just containing another tunnel on the far right. Albel headed straight for it, with Nel following from behind, casting nervous glances around. After the encounter with the crystal dragon, she expected something else to attack them at any moment.

Albel and Nel entered the tunnel, and noticed that they were headed up instead of down.

"Where do you think this tunnel leads?" Nel asked, tired of the silence. She had hoped that Albel might have been grateful for her help with the dragon, since he hadn't been barbequed.

Albel shrugged. "I could care less. I just want out of these damn caves and tunnels!"

They walked in silence once more.

Thirty minutes later…

" I feel fresh air!" Nel exclaimed, running forwards in excitement.

Albel sighed and followed, hoping that the blizzard would be finished by now. As he drew closer to the exit, Albel heard a surprised cry and a roar. Albel rushed forward, katana in hand. He saw Nel dodging a smaller dragon as it tried to attack her. Albel snorted in annoyance and killed the dragon when he got in range.

Nel breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Albel seemed to ignore her as he looked out of the cave.

Nel looked as well, and was surprised. There wasn't even a blizzard anymore. They were looking at a forest, which spread out far in any direction they looked. Sunlight was beaming down on them. "Well, what now? None of this looks familiar…" Nel asked, looking up at Albel, who had a deadpan expression at the moment.

"…"

"Should we go into the forest?" Nel asked, eyeing it with slight unease.

Albel merely nodded and entered the forest.

Nel stayed where she was, staring at the tree's foliage. Even though sunlight was streaming through the trees, she was still skeptical.

Albel glanced over his shoulder and saw Nel's expression. He smirked. "What? Do you want to go back the way we came and fight another dragon Zelpher?"

Nel stepped out of the cave and walked over to where Albel was waiting. "I think I'll take my chances with this forest." She walked past Albel along a half covered path.

Albel fell into step behind her, keeping a close watch in every direction (including multiple glances at Nel for some reason).

As they progressed further into the forest, it got darker and darker.

Nel was very tired and just wanted to get some rest. Nel stopped suddenly when she thought she saw mist rising from between some trees. "Albel…is that mist from a hot spring?"

Albel shrugged. "How should _I_ know? Go look if you want."

Nel rolled her eyes and walked off through the close clump of trees.

Albel frowned and followed her.

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Nel emerged into a clearing, and she and Albel stared at the center of the clearing in silence. It was a hot spring. "…"

Nel really wanted to get in, but there was no way she would if Albel wanted to get in too. Nel wouldn't put it past him to try and take a peek.

Albel seemed to have been reading Nel's mind. "I don't care who gets in first Zelpher…"

"I'm not getting into the springs with _you_." Nel snapped irritably.

Albel didn't reply. Instead he began to take off his clothing and weapons.

Nel spun around immediately, blushing furiously. "Damn it Nox! What's wrong with you?" No response. Nel waited until she heard a splash before turning around. Nel scowled angrily at Albel. The Glyphian was resting comfortably in the hot springs, the water up to his neck. The nice, warm hot springs… _'Damn you Nox! Don't think I'll let you get away with this…' _

Albel opened his eyes and glanced over at the bank where Nel was glaring at him. Albel smirked. "What's wrong fool? I thought you wanted to get in…" Albel then gave Nel a wicked smile.

Nel stared back at him, trying to communicate to Albel that something horrible might happen the longer he stayed in the water. "You bastard! You knew I wanted to get in, especially after that fight with the dragon… You're enjoying this…" Nel sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. "Hurry up! I want to get in for awhile too…"

Albel settled back more comfortably in the water. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon Zelpher. I don't really feel like moving. If you want to get in, I won't look."

Nel frowned in annoyance. When it seemed that Albel wouldn't move, Nel heaved a sigh and walked behind some trees.

Albel wondered if she was leaving him. A moment later, Nel's voice spoke up from behind the tree.

"You'd better close your eyes. Otherwise I'll have to drown you…"

Albel looked mildly surprised, but closed his eyes. "Fine, they're closed women. Hurry up before I change my mind." Albel heard Nel jump into the hot springs with a splash. Albel opened his eyes and saw Nel glaring at him as though daring him to try something. Albel stared back at Nel with a glint in his eyes.

Nel was glad that there was steam rising up from the hot springs. She slid even further into the water. Nel stared off into space for a few minutes, before looking at Albel suddenly.

Albel snorted. "I haven't moved Zelpher."

Nel still eyed him suspiciously.

"What? Do you want me to do something?" Albel asked.

Nel looked away. "You'd better not." She said in a quiet tone.

Albel stood, and Nel as glad that the water was very deep, so that it went above Albel's middle.

Nel shifted uncomfortably. "What are you doing?'

Albel didn't answer as he made his way through the hot spring, until he was near Nel. He sat back down a few feet away from her.

Nel began to shift away from him, but Albel grasped her left arm. Nel tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let go. "A…Albel…" She said uncertainly.

"Why…did you get in the way?" Albel asked in a low voice.

Nel glanced sideways at Albel. He wasn't looking at her. "…You could have gotten an even worse injury from that crystal dragon…than when you fought with that dragon in the blizzard."

Albel's grasp tightened. "You shouldn't have…"

Nel sighed. "What? You _wanted_ to get roasted by it?"

"…"

Nel tilted her head so that she could see Albel's face. "If you've forgotten, you _did _save me from that dragon at the cavern's exit." Nel smiled faintly at Albel's change in expression. He looked uncertain now. Nel continued. "So, let me ask you too. Why did _you _get in the way?" The look of thinking on Albel's face was amusing.

"I…didn't want you to get hurt…I was…worried…" Albel replied, even though he seemed uncertain of his own words.

Nel looked away. "Then…I guess I was worried too." She pried her arm out of Albel's grasp. "I'm fine, so you don't have to worry."

"…" Albel stood to get out of the water. Nel looked away quickly, but Albel heard her whispered words. "Thanks for worrying…Albel."

Later that night…

Albel had first watch. Nel was sleeping peacefully near several trees. Albel watched her silently. What was she doing to him? Since when did he start worrying about what happened to Nel anyway? Nel looked... so calm… Albel jabbed a stick at the dying fire moodily. It was nearing the end of his watch, so he'd need to wake Nel up soon… Albel began to grin wickedly. He'd wake Nel up similarly to the way he woke her up on the spaceship. Albel snuck over to her silently.

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Please review and let me know how this chapter turned out. I would really appreciate it. It can be about anything. As for chapter 9, I'll try to post it next weekend, but it might be delayed because of homework. I'm also going to try and update my profile with details every week or so. Again, please review, I enjoy reading what other people think about this story.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I was able to update a bit earlier because I didn't have a huge amount of homework and the computer actually worked for me. So, chapter 9 is up!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything from Star Ocean 3.

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Nel awoke to find herself face-to-face with a smiling Albel. Nel blushed. The bastard had decided to half lay on her so that she couldn't get up. Nel fixed Albel with an icy glare. He better not have tried anything. By the look on Albel's face, Nel assumed that he was waiting for her to complain. Well, she wouldn't. "So Albel… is it my turn to take watch already?" As long as Albel didn't try anything, he could continue living.

Albel looked faintly amused. He stared at her for a bit longer, wondering whether or not to do anything, before rising slightly and dropping comfortably across Nel's midsection. Albel's gauntlet prevented Nel from raising her arms. He smirked at the furious look on Nel's face. It was too easy to irritate her.

Nel took a deep breath, then said calmly, "If you don't get off Albel, I'll have to use my runology on you…"

Albel's smirk got bigger. Wouldn't Nel injure herself as well if she used her runology? Nel must be bluffing.

Nel began to mutter under her breath, causing Albel to get up and back away quickly in alarm. Nel sat up and launched a small ball of light into the air. It disappeared fairly fast. Nel gave Albel a small, teasing smile.

Albel scowled at Nel, but instead of saying a retort, he merely lay down to try and get some sleep. Albel knew that Nel wouldn't bother him, so he drifted to sleep. _'Why didn't I say anything...what's she doing to me?'_

Nel crossed her arms and leaned against a tree. She glanced down at the sleeping Glyphian. How could he fall asleep so quickly? Nel considered trying to poke Albel in his sleep, but he'd probably run her through with his katana before he realized it was just her. She stared up at the starry sky, wondering when Fayt and the others would find them. They wouldn't leave her here with Albel, would they? Nel sighed, and kept a close watch of her surroundings. They hadn't run into anything yet, but Nel knew it would only be a matter of time before ugly monsters tried to attack them.

-------------------

Albel yawned and sat up. He blinked in surprise. He was in his room in Kirlsa! How did he get there? Albel shrugged and got out of bed. Exiting the room, Albel headed towards Woltar's room and banged on the door several times. "Are you in there old man?" No answer. Albel frowned. Wasn't Woltar almost always in that room? Shrugging again, Albel headed for the stairs. As he descended, he wondered why everything was so quiet. When Albel got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Woltar standing near the mansion entrance, which was being occasionally knocked upon.

Albel walked forward and stopped a few paces away from Woltar. "What are you doing old man, and how did I get here?"

The knocks on the door turned into pounding. Woltar turned around and replied. "What do you mean?"

Albel scowled. "Don't lie to me! You and the king set me up! I was being forced to go on vacation! And then I got stuck someplace with Nel. Now I'm here! What's going on?"

The banging on the door increased. "I don't know what you are talking about boy." Woltar said.

Albel looked at the door curiously. "What's out there?"

Woltar smiled in answer and opened the door.

A horde of women came inside. They seemed momentarily shocked, then began to whisper amongst themselves. Then, simultaneously, the women looked at Albel and screamed at the same time. They stampeded towards him.

Albel looked shocked and horrified. He spun about and sprinted back up the stairs, towards his room. "What the hell old man?" Albel yelled angrily. Where the heck did all those women come from? There weren't _that_ many of them in Kirlsa.

Woltar didn't seem to hear Albel. Instead, he was saying, "Go on, he's upstairs now."

Albel was seething as he locked himself inside his room. He heard Woltar speaking again.

"You know Albel, you really should consider getting married, and doing so before you get old, like me. Hohoho."

Albel made sure that his room's door was securely locked. What the hell was going on? Where was Nel? Albel jumped when he heard knocking on his windows. There were _more_ of them outside? Albel backed up as more women broke the window and entered through it. What the…? Albel closed his eyes, feverently hoping that everything was an illusion and not real.

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Albel felt something slap his face. He woke instantly, his right hand grasping something. Albel sat up and glanced at what he was holding onto. An arm. Albel's gaze traveled up the arm. It was Nel's arm, and she was giving him an annoyed look. Albel sighed heavily and released Nel's arm. "What was that for?" He asked.

"You were moving around in your sleep. Sometimes you'd call out. It was kind of loud, so I woke you up." Nel answered.

"Hmpf." Albel grunted, choosing not to reply. He was more distracted by the dream he had just had. With all the women chasing him…Albel shuddered inwardly. That had been a very strange and disturbing dream.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Nel inquired. _'At least he didn't stab me...'_

"Why would _you_ care women?" Albel snapped. He was now trying to remember if Nel had been one of the women chasing him. He kind of liked the idea of that.

"So you did. Want to talk about it?" Nel asked, sounding faintly interested.

Albel looked away. "…Woltar was in it…"

Nel stifled a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Albel demanded, turning so that he could see Nel.

"What happened?" Nel asked, sounding amused now.

"He…he let a bunch of women into the mansion. They chased me…and Woltar was encouraging them, saying that I should get married…" Albel explained in a low, hushed voice. He thought he would know Nel's reaction, but it was different than what he had thought it would be.

Nel stared at Albel for a moment, before she burst out in laughter. Seeing Albel's angry glare, Nel choked out, "What? Like_ that_ would ever happen…"

"What wouldn't happen?" Albel asked.

"Women chasing after you of course. I think most would rather avoid you." Nel replied, wondering how Albel would react. Nel didn't expect him to start smiling.

" 'Most', Zelpher?" Albel asked, smiling in amusement.

Nel realized what she had said, but ignored Albel's smile. "What about it?" Before Albel could reply, Nel added coldly, "You know I'm only here because I can't get away, right?"

"Are you _sure_ that's the only reason?" Albel asked slyly. He was thinking about the dream again.

"Why?" Nel asked.

"Why Zelpher, you haven't noticed? There have been less and less opportunities for me to insult you. You also haven't been saying anything bad about me lately…" Albel explained, still smiling as Nel thought for a bit.

"That still…doesn't mean anything." Nel replied, even though she sounded uncertain.

Albel had lain back down. "I'm going to go back to sleep Zelpher. Don't wake me up too soon…"

Nel frowned at Albel's back. _'Not my fault that you moan and yell in your sleep…'_ Nel sat down and leaned against a tree. Albel _was_ acting differently. For Albel, he was actually being mostly decent, which was a bit strange. He hadn't started a fight with her lately, and his only insults consisted of 'fool', 'women', and the occasional 'wench', but he wasn't using them as frequently. Nel drifted to sleep while still trying to figure out what was going on.

There was movement in nearby trees...

-----------------

Nel awoke to find Albel standing in front of her and glaring down at her in silence. Nel yawned and tried to focus. Why was Albel just standing there? "What?" She asked sleepily.

Albel stared at her incredulously. "What? I'll tell you 'what' women! You fell asleep during your watch!"

Nel came wide awake. "Oh!" She exclaimed, and looked around. Everything seemed fine to her. "We weren't attacked, so what's the problem?" Nel turned her attention back to Albel, surprised to see him looking furious.

"What's the _problem_? If you haven't noticed, my gauntlet's missing!" Albel snapped angrily.

Nel chanced a quick glance at Albel's left arm, before standing up. That explained why Albel was so worked up. "Shouldn't _you_ have woken up? You did when I barely even touched your face to wake you up."

Albel didn't answer, he just gave Nel a very evil look.

Nel decided not to ask anything else, in case Albel was pushed enough that he'd want to fight. Nel walked over to the path. "Then let's go look for it. Nothing will happen if we just stay here." Nel _did_ think something would happen, like Albel wanting to murder her the longer they stayed in one place. Nel heard Albel walk onto the path behind her, fuming and saying nothing.

They walked along the path, occasionally leaving it to check different clearings. There was no sign of the gauntlet. Albel's temper increased as the day went on. After a day and a half of searching (with a few scattered breaks to rest), Albel and Nel entered a small clearing. Both decided with silent glances that they would stay here and get a proper rest.

Nel had first watch. She made sure that she stayed awake and alert. Nel was worried about falling asleep again. Would Albel injure her if she did? He seemed in a pretty foul mood. Once her watch was over, Nel approached Albel cautiously. How long would he stay mad? She halted when she saw Albel sit up.

Albel crossed the clearing and stayed close to a group of trees. He didn't say anything at all. He just glared at the trees.

Nel lay down as far away from Albel as she could and tried to fall asleep. It was very hard to when she kept thinking Albel might do something.

"Go to sleep already." Albel's irritated voice said after a few minutes.

Nel glanced over her shoulder at Albel. "..."

Albel blinked. What was wrong with Nel? She should be getting some sleep so that she wouldn't fall asleep during any of her watches again. Why was Nel looking at him like that? Albel frowned. Was she worried about being attacked? "I'm not going to go to sleep, so don't worry about being attacked."

Nel settled back down, murmuring, "It's _you_ I'm worried about. You're more likely to attack me..."

Albel looked away. She thought he'd attack her? "..." He was still a bit angry with Nel, but he wouldn't actually 'attack' her. Albel snorted. Fine, let her worry. She was the one who had fallen asleep during her watch.

Albel's watch passed uneventfully. He was disappointed. He had hoped that whoever had taken his gauntlet would have tried something else. Albel glanced at Nel's sleeping form. He had been thinking, and wasn't sure anymore whether to be angry with Nel or not. She hadn't really had to stay up for watches as much after defeating Luther. Albel sighed. He silently agreed with Nel. Why hadn't he woken up? Someone taking his gauntlet off should have woken him up right away. But then why wouldn't have Nel woken up? Surely _she_ would have heard something? Albel sighed dejectedly. Blaming Nel wouldn't bring his gauntlet back anytime soon. Slightly less irritated, Albel went over to Nel to wake her up.

Nel stretched and yawned at the same time. She stood up, not really wanting to look Albel in the eyes. He was probably glaring at her or something. Nel headed towards the path, knowing that Albel would follow her. Nel knew, even though Albel wouldn't admit it, that he would be extremely vunerable if he were to go off by himself.

Albel walked behind Nel, wondering why she wasn't looking at him. Albel decided that she must not want to see what he looked like without the gauntlet. Albel _really_ wanted his gauntlet back. He was more angry with himself then with Nel for the moment.

Albel and Nel searched again, but were having no luck. Even after a few miles, they still found nothing _and _were still in the forest.

Nel kept leading the wasy, but was having a hard time concentrating. She kept wondering if Albel was going to do anything to her.

Albel's current thoughts, however, were only on locating his gauntlet and punishing whoever took it.

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There we go! How to you think this chapter went? Please review and let me know! I'd appreciate any comments. I'll probably update somewhere between 11/9 and 11/11, again because of the chance for homework. I will keep trying to update my profile once a week or so if I have any new updates. Again, please review, I'd love to know how you think this story is going.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm posting this chapter a day earlier than I thought, since I don't have too much homework and had some free time. So, here's chapter 10!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Star Ocean 3.

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A couple days later…

Albel was back to his old, insulting self.

Nel sighed deeply as she walked. Nel knew that Albel was trailing along behind her. He was probably glaring at the back of her head, trying to burn holes in it.

Ever since Nel had fallen asleep during her watch and woke to find that Albel's gauntlet was gone, Albel had begun to get more and more nasty. Nel was pretty sure that Albel still blamed her for what happened. Nel really hoped that they would find the gauntlet soon. The mounting tension between her and Albel was getting more and more intolerable.

Albel scowled darkly at Nel's back. She was moving pretty slowly. Did Nel think that him missing his gauntlet made him useless? Albel's right hand felt what was left of his left arm. Albel felt extremely vulnerable, since he only had his katana to defend himself now. _'I'll probably need to_ _protect Nel as well…'_ Albel cast a glance at Nel's back. He then looked at his left arm. He really couldn't, since he'd be busy defending himself.

Nel chanced a backwards glance at Albel, and saw that he was looking uncertain and miserable.

Albel looked up and locked eyes with Nel. His expression immediately changed into a scowl. "What are you staring at fool?"

Nel looked away, not answering him. She knew now that Albel wasn't fully angry with her. Nel didn't look back at Albel again, because she didn't want to chance being insulted. Nel kept walking, not really paying attention to where she was going. Nel thought she heard someone speaking, but she dismissed it, as she was lost in her own thoughts.

Something suddenly grabbed Nel and dragged her to the cover of some trees. Nel struggled and kicked at whatever was grasping her. Albel hadn't tried to help her…why was everything going wrong?

One of Nel's kicks connected and she was released. Nel leapt away and drew her daggers, before turning to face her attacker. It was Albel. Nel lowered her weapons, giving Albel a confused look.

Albel was wincing and favoring his left leg. He was glaring icily at Nel, his right hand on his katana's hilt.

"What was that for?" Nel demanded, keeping her daggers ready, just in case Albel decided he wanted to start a fight.

Albel continued to glare, but didn't answer. Suddenly, he dashed at her and leapt at her as he drew his katana.

Nel half raised her daggers, but was bowled over as Albel tackled her. Both crashed to the ground. Nel shoved Albel off of her, suprised that he had allowed her to do so. Nel placed a dagger to Albel's throat, but paused before she could question him.

Albel was frantically trying to tell her to be silent, using his right hand to show the 'shh' sign while also giving her a pleading look.

Nel stared at Albel in confusion again. Since when did Albel give any looks that resembled pleading? Nel was about to say something when other voices spoke nearby.

"Are you sure you saw something?" One voice asked.

"I thought I did...I must have been seeing things..." A second voice replied.

"Well, keep a sharp eye about. You heard what Ven said, about the two people he saw before?" The first voice asked.

Nel and Albel exchanged quick glances.

"Oh yeah. They moved from the spot he saw them though. He and the others weren't able to capture them." The second voice answered.

"If you find them, bring them to the castle." The first voice ordered.

"Yes sir!" The second replied. Footsteps could be heard heading in the opposite direction of Albel and Nel.

Albel was the first one up. He peered around a tree to make sure that no one was there, before turning back to Nel. "What's _wrong_ with you Zelpher?" He demanded.

"What? _You_ were the one grabbing me and jumping me with your katana!" Nel replied furiously.

"Shut up fool! I drew my katana just in case those worms decided to come over here!" Albel snapped back.

"_Don't call me that_! Why did you tackle me? You could have just said you heard something." Nel shot back, her voice getting louder.

"Quiet! Do you want them to come back?" Albel hissed, casting a glance over his shoulder. When he turned back, he found Nel's daggers at his throat again. Albel's eyes glinted dangerously at Nel. "What do you think you're doing women?" He was backed up against a tree, Nel's emerald eyes blazing.

"I'm tired of you always insulting me. Answer my question!" Nel said in reply, daggers still held against Albel's throat.

"Thay would have seen you, that's why." Albel answered in an calm voice. He suddenly snapped up his katana, causing Nel to jump away, a slight cut from the blade on her left arm.

Both stood stalk still. Albel's expression was suprise, since he hadn't meant to hurt Nel, just make her back away. Nel was shocked, wondering why Albel had actually hit her with the blade. So...he wanted a fight did he?

Albel swore angrily under his breath as Nel charged at him with her weapons. Albel easily dodged two slashes, and led Nel away from the direction they had heard the voices. Albel hoped that the sounds of battle would be far enough away not to be heard.

The sound of steel striking steel rang out, and Albel could tell by the look on Nel's face that she intended to score a hit on him. Albel frowned as he concentrated on parrying. He _really_ hoped that Nel wouldn't use her runology. One, because it would hurt a lot, and two, it would be a signal to anyone looking for them. Nel's expression, however, seemed to be intent on dealing out some punishment.

Albel chanced a backwards glance, and saw that they were getting closer and closer to a lake. Not good...he had to try and talk some sense into Nel.

The closer the lake got, the more desprate Albel became. He could tell thet Nel was trying to force him into the lake now.

Nel was still angry, but was now wondering why Albel wasn't really trying. _He_ was the one who had started it.

Albel saw Nel renew her attacks, and planned on allowing her to hit the katana out of his grasp. If Nel still wanted to push him into the lake, then she could.

A few minutes passed before Nel succeded in knocking the katana from Albel's hand. Everything came to a screeching halt.

Nel was staring at Albel in amazement. Had he purposely let go of his weapon, or did she actually get the better of him?

Albel was staring at Nel sullenly. He really didn't want to get shoved into the lake.

Several tense moments went by before Nel finally lowered her daggers. "Did you let go of your katana on purpose?" Seeing Albel's expression, she added. "Why?"

"...I wasn't trying to start a fight with you. I just wanted to get those daggers away from me." Albel replied.

"You weren't?" Nel asked, suprised.

Albel nodded, hoping that Nel would stay where she was.

Nel rolled her eyes and sheathed her weapons. She then healed the small wound on her arm.

Albel relaxed slightly. Nel seemed to be in a better mood now.

Nel walked past Albel and headed towards the lake.

Albel smiled wickedly. Nel wanted to take a swim, did she? He snuck up behind her stealthily, before diving at her. Nel sidestepped and Albel could have sworn that he had seen a smile on her face. Albel fell head first into the lake, and surfaced to find that Nel was laughing at him.

"Were you trying to push me into the lake?" Nel asked, still laughing.

Albel looked away. "..." When he tried to move towards shore, he found that he couldn't move. Albel looked up at Nel, who was smiling sweetly at him. Albel glanced down and saw that the water had frozen around his waist. He glared at Nel. "What do you think you're _doing_ women?!"

Nel shrugged and walked off. "That should melt pretty quickly. It shouldn't take more than an hour." She walked out of sight, leaving behind a fuming Albel.

One hour later...

Albel lay on shore, waiting for Nel to return. He was extremely unhappy, but was relieved that Nel seemed to be back to her usual self. Albel frowned as he got up to retrieve his katana. Albel kept it out as he traced Nel's path. As he walked, Albel wondered again if Nel was planning on leaving him behind or not. Becoming more and more agitated, Albel didn't notice when someone snuck up from behind him. Albel dropped to the ground, unconciouss.

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Albel awoke with a massive headache. Groggily he tried to figure out where he was. The last thing he could remember was going to search for Nel.

"You're awake. It's about time." A voice said.

Albel rubbed his head and tried to focus on the speaker. It was Nel! "Mmm...what happened?"

Nel frowned at him. "I was getting you back for all the injuries and insults you've given me."

Albel looked at Nel again. He also remembered someone hitting him from behind. "You...you did that?!"

Nel folded her arms and leaned against a tree. "That's right. How does it feel? You did kind of move..."

Albel glared venomously at her. "Fool! What if more of those people had shown up? It wouldn't have been good if I were still knocked out!"

"Why would it matter? You're pretty useless at the moment anyway..." Nel snapped back, irritated.

"..." Albel looked away, and refused to look at Nel or answer her when she tried to strike up a conversation.

Nel stopped trying, deciding that she had probably struck a nerve and was most likely on rocky grounds with Albel now.

Albel stared down at the ground. _'She thinks I'm useless?'_

"Albel?" Nel asked.

He ignored her. Nel was probably just trying to say something else about what he could and couldn't do.

Nel sighed and walked over to Albel, stopping in front of him. "Albel."

Albel kept his gaze firmly on the ground, still not looking up at Nel. She was talking now, and Albel thought he may have heard an apology, but was now distracted by other noises. He heard bows being drawn back. Without thinking, Albel threw himself at Nel, knocking her down to the ground as arrows wizzed by overhead.

Nel had noticed the arrows as well, and was suprised that Albel had thrown himself in the way. What was up with him?

"Move!"Albel snarled, and both he and Nel ran through the forest, dodging around trees as they avoided arrows. Albel sucked in his breath as an arrow hit him. "Keep going!" He told Nel when he saw that she had stopped for a momnt.

Nel resumed running, wondering if they could throw off their unseen pursuers. Nel was sure that Albel had been hit with an arrow. He was moving more slowly. Nel lost track of how long they had been running. Both finally slumped in the cover of some trees and bushes. Nel came over to Abel. "Are you all right?"

Albel flinched as he pulled out the arrow from his side. "I'm...fine..."

Nel shook her head and knelt next to Albel. Ignoring his glare, Nel cast a healing spell with her runology. The wound healed over. As Nel backed up, she thought she heard Albel murmur the word 'thanks.' Nel sat down across from Albel. "What should we do now?"

Albel shook his head. "There might still be people looking for us. We should probably wait until it's night before we do anything."

Hours went by uneventfully, and soon Albel and Nel were walking along another path, weaving their way through the trees. They were still looking for Albel's gauntlet, although they were both more alert for any signs of being followed.

A few hours after dawn, Albel had become more and more watchful.

"What's wrong?" Nel whispered.

"Something's following us..." Albel muttered, then slipped away into the surrounding trees.

Nel continued walking as if nothing peculiar had happened. She was ready for a fight though.

Silence, then...

"Owowow! Let go of me!"

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Please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. It can be anything. I really appreciate comments about the story. Some things will be explained in the next chapter (there will also be a bit more of a plot). I will continue to update my profile as often as I can. Again, please review and I'll update the story as soon as I am able to.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it. This chapter is mostly with Albel and Nel, but Fayt and co. do show up later in this chapter. So, here's chapter 11!

Disclaimer: Star Ocean 3 doesn't belong to me…

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Nel turned around, ready to draw her daggers. She relaxed when she saw that it was only Albel.

Albel came into the clearing, holding a human who appeared to be around ten years old.

Nel folded her arms. Albel was holding the human by what looked like a tail. The ten-year-old was struggling to get free, but Albel refused to let go. "What have you got there?" She asked, unsure of whether to be amused or not.

Albel continued to ignore the human's attempts at escaping. "He was following us." Albel let go of the tail, and the ten-year-old dropped to the ground. The human struggled upright, glaring at Albel.

"Who are you?" Nel asked politely.

"And _what_ are you?" Albel added.

The ten-year-old's tail (which resembled a lion's tail) swished back and forth as he answered Nel. "My name's Aiden." The ten-year-old human, Aiden, had dark blue hair, his tail a light brown, with the tuft at the end a darker brown. His ears resembled longer cat ears, which were black on the outside and soft white in the inside, and very fluffy-looking. Aiden wore dark blue pants with a black belt, and also wore a black tunic. He wore armor on his shoulders, and also wore wrist guards.

Nel smiled. "Hello Aiden. My name is Nel, and that is Albel." Nel saw that Albel was eyeing Aiden's tail scrutinizingly and added. "If you don't mind, could you tell us what you are? You don't seem to be human."

Aiden's golden eyes were currently challenging Albel's ruby ones. Aiden transferred his gaze back to Nel. "I'm half human and half griffon…I think. Don't ask how that would work, because I don't know." Aiden paused, then asked. "Where did you two come from?"

Nel glanced at Albel, before saying. "We came through the caves that lead to this forest. Can you tell us where we are?" She didn't want to tell this ten-year-old that they had ended up here because of a spaceship.

Aiden was nodding in understanding. "That's what I thought. Anyway, I could show you around, if you want. I know this forest pretty well." Aiden watched Albel and Nel whisper with eachother. They turned back to him. "What do you say?" Aiden asked.

Albel glared down at Aiden. "And why would we need you to show us around maggot?"

Aiden shrugged. "Well, you could keep walking the way you are, but if you do you'll probably be captured. You'd get brought to the kingdom by the soldiers."

Nel was silent for a moment. "We'd appreciate it if you could help us out." She answered, casing a glare at Albel. He ignored her.

Aiden smiled brightly. "Okay!" He pointed down along the path Nel and Albel had been heading. "The kingdom's in that direction. You don't want to be caught and brought there as a prisoner. You'd want to go there freely." Aiden explained.

"Why's that?" Nel asked.

Aiden shook his head. "I can explain more later. Would you mind going with me to my village? It would be much safer there."

Nel nodded in agreement, while also stepping down hard on one of Albel's boots to keep him from adding an insult. She and Albel followed Aiden as he led them to his village, with Albel glaring at the back of Nel's head.

Aiden would occasionally point out landmarks, or the direction something would be. Nel kept having to stop Albel from insulting Aiden (while also stopping him from 'accidentally' stepping on Aiden's tail).

They traveled into the night, and finally came out of the forest. There was a village near the sea.

Aiden led them to a small house, and went inside. There were two other humans inside that resembled Aiden, but older. The two of them seemed surprised at the sight of Albel and Nel.

"They're not from the kingdom." Aiden told them, and they visably relaxed. Aiden turned to Albel and Nel. "This is my mother and father."

Introductions were made, and Aiden's father spoke. "It's good that you didn't go to that kingdom right away. Especially since the soldiers are out and about."

"Why, is that a problem?" Nel asked.

"They usually think that if anyone is found in the forest outside the kingdom, that they are an enemy." Aiden's mother answered.

"Then how is anyone supposed to go there then?" Albel asked, and Nel was glad that Albel hadn't inserted an insult.

"If someone escourted you to the kingdom and you had a reason to be there, then the soldiers wouldn't mind…" Aiden's father replied.

"They said they came from the caverns!" Aiden interjected, bouncing on a cot in the corner of the room.

"The dragons didn't bother you?" Aiden's father asked.

Nel and Albel exchanged glances. "Well…they did bother us…" Nel began.

"…but we fought them and either killed or chased them off." Albel finished.

Aiden and his parents looked surprised and impressed.

"Has the kingdom always been like that? Capturing people they think are enemies?" Nel asked, bringing up another topic. She really didn't want to talk about dragons. She was more interested in finding out what the heck was going on.

"Oh, its been like that for as long as we can remember." Aiden's mother said.

"But in the past couple months, it seems to have intensified. No one seems to know why though." Aiden's father added thoughtfully.

"I've been spying on the soldiers and listening to their conversations. I haven't really learned anything though." Aiden said.

Albel sighed. "Why don't you just capture a soldier and question them maggots?"

Aiden's father shook his head, "It's not that easy. If any soldier disappears, then they are searched for. They've been stricter in keeping tabs on the soldiers."

Albel was thinking that the brigades in Airyglyph should do that, since soldiers kept seeming to disappear.

Nel was looking out the window. "What are those? Torches?"

Aiden's mother joined Nel at the window. "Ohh! It's some of the soldiers!"

"Follow me." Aiden told Albel and Nel. He led them out the back of the house.

Nel sighed. "Things just keep getting worse and worse."

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Cliff lounged on a chair in the conference room. The rest of the group had also assembled there. Cliff stared up at the ceiling. Mirage had said something about learning some new information.

Fayt was sitting across from Cliff. He was just happy that Sophia hadn't been grabbing him or hugging him so much lately. Fayt was more than happy to help Maria with anything as long as he could stay away from Sophia. Fayt wondered if Albel and Nel were all right. He sighed. They probably would've had more fights since the last one. Fayt hoped that they'd find them both in one piece.

Roger was bouncing up and down in his chair, with mixed feelings. He was really happy that Albel was gone, but sad that Nel wasn't on the ship anymore. Roger watched as Mirage and Maria stood up to speak to those present.

"Thank you for getting here so fast. We've learned new information from Marietta and Steeg." Mirage said.

Maria nodded in agreement. "That's right. Since we've been close enough to Elicoor II, we were able to figure out that Albel and Nel ended up on the other side of the planet. We know that there is some type of city or kingdom. Steeg found out that the place seems to have very strict rules and locks away or kills tresspassers…"

Murmuring broke out, and Mirage spoke up. "There are also a few villages around that kingdom."

"So…they're somewhere where people kill strangers?" Cliff asked.

Sophia seemed very stressed out now. "What if they get caught?"

"…"

"I'm sure that Albel and Nel are smart enough not to be caught by anyone." Fayt reassured Sophia.

"Do we know anything else?" Cliff asked.

Maria shook her head. "Marietta and the others are trying to find out more."

"Albel and Nel still can't be pin pointed for their exact location, but we do know they're definatly there." Mirage added.

"Do you have any idea how long it will take to find out more information?" Fayt asked.

"No, but I'll let you all know when we learn something else." Maria answered.

The whole room was quiet, everyone with their own thoughts.

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"I think they're gone now." Aiden told Nel and Albel. He led them back into the house.

Aiden's mother and father were looking annoyed as well as relieved.

"The soldiers are gone for now. They were looking for you." Aiden's mother said.

"They might come back, but it would be safer if you stayed here instead of wandering around in the forest." Aiden's father added.

"We could just avoid them, get into the kingdom, and demand to see their leader." Albel suggested. He didn't feel like hiding anywhere. He just wanted his gauntlet back.

Aiden's father shook his head. "That wouldn't be a very good idea. The soldiers know the forest very well."

Albel shrugged. "So? I'll fight them if I have to. Worms like them should be easy to deal with." He ignored Nel's glares.

"The soldiers are very skilled, and they use the environment around them, as well as traps. They could capture you before you even knew it." Aiden's father said.

"I wouldn't fall into any traps." Albel insisted. Who did this maggot think he was?

Nel beat Aiden's father to an answer. "What could you even do? You're more likely to fall into a trap without your gauntlet."

"You don't think I could sneak into a kingdom or avoid traps just because I don't have my gauntlet?!" Albel snarled back, his right hand unconsciously touching his left.

"I wasn't saying that!" Nel yelled back. Why did he have to be difficult?

"Yes you are fool! You think I'm useless now, don't you?" Albel retorted. She doesn't understand...

"N..no.." Nel said in a quiet voice. She still hadn't thanked him for helping her avoid the arrows from before.

Albel looked away. "You're lying. You do think I'm useless…" Albel started when Nel came over and stood only a few inches from him. "What?" He snapped. "Why don't you just leave me alone fool?"

Nel slapped Albel across the face. "You're the fool! You should try thinking every once and awhile. I was just meaning to say that since you are missing the gauntlet and only have your katana to defend yourself, it wouldn't be very smart to try and challenge any soldiers to get to a kingdom. The odds would be against you, and you'd be more likely to be caught in a trap. You could be injured!"

Albel glared angrily at her. "Mind your own business wench!" He backed up a step at Nel's angry expression.

Nel turned around and stormed off, out of the house and into the forest.

Albel stayed where he was in silence. Why was Nel so angry? _She_ was the one that started it. Besides, she wouldn't stay in the forest for long...

Aiden's parents exchanged glances, and Aiden himself merely looked confused.

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End chapter! So, what do you think? Please review. Any comments would be great. I had to use some OC's to keep the story going, so I hope you don't mind. I will update my profile with any new info and put up the next chapter when I'm able to (There will be a new summary as well). Until then, please review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. (By the way, in the S03 game, it says in the dictionary that there are islands opposite from where the events take place in the game. So I'm pretending that there is a big enough island for events in this story to happen).


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to those who reviewed! It makes me happy to know that the story's all right. The delay was due to a project I had to do for school, and some because I needed time to type. It's only supposed to be 25 degrees here today...ugh... Anyway, here's chapter 12!

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own anything from Star Ocean 3.

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Nel slowed to a walk once she couldn't see Aiden's house. Stupid Albel. Why did he always have to be so difficult? Nel sighed. And why wasn't she mad at him now? Nel stopped walking and stared at a tree. While she thought, Nel began to realize that the forest was very quiet. _'Maybe I should go back…they're probably worried…'_ Nel turned around and held back a gasp as she came face to face with a few soldiers.

The soldiers leered evilly at Nel, and by what Nel could tell, they thought that she should be easy to capture.

Nel leapt back, getting ready to use runology. They'd find out that it would be harder than they thought. The soldiers merely laughed, and Nel was momentarily confused, until she was grabbed from behind by two other soldiers, who had been in hiding.

_'Where did they come from?'_ Nel struggled as the soldiers dragged her towards the path. Nel was angry with herself for being careless and not noticing the concealed soldiers. Nel finally stopped struggling, and walked along the path, preferring not to be dragged. Nel wondered briefly if Albel would wonder where she was, and why she hadn't returned yet.

Two eyes glinted in nearby bushes, having watched the whole scene. They disappeared as the soldiers headed down the path.

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Albel paced back and forth outside of Aiden's house. Aiden's parents watched his progress from inside nervously. After Nel had stormed off into the forest, Albel had been pacing around, fuming.

_'Why'd she run off?'_ Albel kicked a rock and watched as it splashed into the nearby water of the sea. _'She should be back by now…'_ Albel glanced at the forest. He halted, seeing Aiden come out of the forest. Albel decided to bug him. "Hey maggot! Did you run into Nel?"

Aiden froze in his tracks and gave Albel a nervous glance. "Um…" Aiden gulped as Albel approached him, standing only about a foot away now.

"Well?" Albel asked, staring down coldly at Aiden.

Aiden fidgeted with his collar, not looking up at Albel. "Y…yes…"

Albel heaved an annoyed sigh. "Why didn't she come back with you then?" He frowned. "Don't tell me that I have to go and get her myself…" Albel studied Aiden's expression. He looked…scared and nervous…Albel suddenly felt uneasy. "Did…something happen to Nel?"

Aiden braced himself, not sure how Albel would react. Aiden had a feeling that Albel may care about Nel, even if he wouldn't show it. Aiden took a deep breath and replied. "She was captured by some of the soldiers…"

Albel stared at Aiden in disbelief, before turning around and storming off towards the forest. _'Foolish women!'_

Aiden looked pleadingly at his parents, and they hurried over to intercept Albel.

"Out of my way fools!" Albel snarled angrily. They weren't going to stop him. Nel was in trouble!

"You need to calm down. You'll only be careless if you go off angry." Aiden's mother said calmly.

"Do you even know where the kingdom is?" Aiden's father added.

Albel was silent. _'Damn!'_ "No." He admitted aloud.

"I know where it is!" Aiden said.

"…" Aiden's parents glanced at each other, then turned to Albel.

"Aiden does know the way…if you'd be willing to allow him to show you." Aiden's mother said.

Albel cast a glance at the forest. He really didn't want to get lost…Nel needed help... Albel looked at Aiden, then said. "Fine…"

As Albel was about to walk off, Aiden's father asked. "Are you sure you want to go?" He was looking at what was left of Albel's left arm.

Albel shrugged. "My katana will be sufficient to deal with foolish soldiers. Besides, one of them may have my gauntlet." He walked off, as Aiden hurried ahead to lead the way.

Aiden's parents watched them leave in a worried silence.

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Albel lost track of how long he and Aiden had been navigating the forest. _'Too long…'_ Nel could be in even more trouble, and here he was, wandering through a forest with a kid who has a tail! Why was he worried about Nel again? It was _her_ fault for going into the forest alone. Albel glanced up to see where Aiden had gotten to.

Aiden was crouching on a fallen tree and staring, not making a sound.

Albel frowned and made his way quietly over to Aiden. He then saw what Aiden was looking at. A group of soldiers were talking and laughing amongst themselves. Albel scanned the area again. No sign of Nel…

Aiden tapped Albel's shoulder and motioned at the left-hand path, making motions that looked like throwing.

Albel understood. A distraction. Picking up a nearby rock, Albel launched it over the soldiers heads, where it struck a tree with a loud crack.

The soldiers rushed over to the path to see what had happened. With all the commotion, they didn't notice Albel and Aiden slip down a small hill towards the right-hand path.

Aiden maneuvered around a few more trees, then halted in a shelter of a group of close knit trees.

"Why'd you stop maggot?" Albel demanded. Why was Aiden delaying?

"How do you think you will get into the castle to help Nel?" Aiden asked.

Albel was silent. How _was_ he supposed to get into a castle that was most likely crawling with guards? Albel gave a short laugh. "Heh! It doesn't matter. I'll find a way in once I see the castle. Now get moving maggot!"

Aiden shrugged and continued to lead Albel to the kingdom. He had no idea how Albel would get into the castle without being questioned. Oh well, they'd have to worry about that later… Aiden let out a yelp as he fell down a hole into a concealed pit.

Albel managed to avoid it, and grinned briefly at the amount of swearwords Aiden uttered as he climbed out of the pit. Who knew such a young person would know so many? His parents would probably be disappointed.

Aiden flicked a few specks of dirt off his tail, saying. "I'd forgotten about those things…" Brushing the dust off his clothing, Aiden walked along a different path. "We shouldn't have to worry about those traps on this path."

Albel frowned, silent, suddenly wondering if Nel would be all right.

The day went on, and Aiden managed to keep himself and Albel away from the traps. There was one time that Aiden had forgotten about one, which resulted in Albel hanging upside down in a tree, inside a net. Aiden had hurried to try and get him down, as Albel swore profanely.

Albel walked in silence once he was out of the net, and Aiden made sure that there weren't any traps before proceeding in any given direction. Aiden _really_ didn't want to get beaten up by Albel again.

Albel scowled at Aiden's back. Aiden had probably thought it was funny that he had been caught in a net. Albel touched his katana's hilt with his right hand. If any soldier were to show up now, they'd regret it.

Aiden and Albel stopped to get some rest every couple of hours.

Later…

Aiden halted behind some trees near a path. "That path over there leads to the kingdom." Aiden informed Albel. He started walking again, but not towards the path.

"Where are you going?" Albel asked.

"Avoiding the soldiers…Hey!" Aiden replied, yelping when he bumped into something.

Albel swiftly ducked behind a tree and listened as some voices spoke.

"It's just a kid."

"Let's keep going."

"What if someone else is with him?"

Albel swore under his breath and drew out his katana silently. He peeked around the trees and saw the soldiers standing around Aiden.

One of the soldiers looked like they wanted to speak, but didn't as he and the two others turned at a sound. All they had time to see was a swiftly moving katana.

"Get moving maggot!" Albel hissed, glancing around to see if anyone had been alerted.

Aiden hurried off through the trees, Albel close behind. "Almost there…"Aiden murmured.

Albel and Aiden halted outside the kingdom's outer walls. Anywhere you looked, there were soldiers, and they seemed to be irritated about something.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Albel asked, eyeing the soldiers. He wondered if he could destroy them without being attacked and getting injured.

"We can sneak in at night." Aiden answered, as if that had been the most obvious answer in the world.

Albel lay down beneath the cover of some trees. "Hmpf." Was his reply. Albel had wanted to storm the place, but that would probably just get him killed and would accomplish nothing. Albel frowned up at the trees leaves, and dozed off, pretending that the leaves were soldiers, and that he was destroying them, one by one.

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Aiden was woken up by Albel when the sky had grown dark. Aiden cast a quick glance at the wall, before running as fast as he could towards it.

Albel followed, keeping an eye on the higher parts of the wall. He didn't want to be struck down by arrows. He thought about Nel again. _'Fool..'_

Aiden and Albel made it to the wall, and Aiden soon found a secret entrance into the kingdom. The two stood motionless as a few people passed by.

Albel watched them silently. They looked human to him…no tail. Albel gazed up at a tower in the distance. "Hey maggot. Is that tower part of the castle?"

Aiden considered the tower for a moment before answering. "Yes."

"Let's get going then." Albel growled. There was no telling what could have happened to Nel, and he wanted to find her as soon as possible.

Aiden nodded in agreement, and, after making sure that no one was around, began to navigate the city. They made slow progress towards the enormous castle that loomed in the back of its surrounding city.

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Nel awoke inside a dungeon. She sat up, rubbing her head. Why did she have to be knocked out just to be thrown into a dungeon? Nel sighed and took stock of her surroundings.

She was in a pretty large dungeon cell, but there was nothing in it. The walls and floor were made out of stone, so it wasn't very comfortable. There was one door with a window, the only place that let light into the dungeon.

Nel lay back down and tried to rest. Her head was throbbing too much for her to think. Before Nel drifted off though, she wondered if Albel was going to help her or not. Nel also hoped that Albel wouldn't get himself killed if he did try to help her.

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Inside the castle throne room, the king was pacing back and forth, absorbing the information he had just received from some of his subordinates.

The king was fairly young, around his mid 20's, wearing clothing that showed his rank. He had semi long hair that was a mix of brown, black and silver. His purple eyes darted around as he thought.

One of the two people who had been caught trespassing near the kingdom had been captured, and was now in the dungeon. The other was free and still at large. They could be anywhere.

"King Ven! Would you like for someone to interrogate the new prisoner?" A soldier asked. Where did they come from?

The king, Ven, eyed the soldier as he paced. "Of course! Why haven't you already?"

The soldier bobbed his head hastily and hurried off.

Ven shook his head. Did he always have to agree to something before it was done? Why was he the only intelligent one in this castle?

"You seem troubled." A calm, mellow voice said from the shadows.

Ven stopped pacing and glanced around. "Stop doing that! Why won't you show yourself?"

No answer.

"Well, what do you want?" Ven asked, irritated. Whoever it was would only speak with him when he was alone.

"I'm here merely to inform you that there is an intruder making their way here." The mellow voice replied after a moment of silence.

Ven shrugged. "So? They'll be caught before they can even reach the castle. So go, and see if you can learn anything useful…"

"As you say…" The mellow voice answered, a hint of sarcasm present.

Ven resumed pacing when the voice didn't speak again. _'Useful…but annoying…'_

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Nel awoke when someone opened the dungeon's door. She sat up, and once she felt all right, stood up and glared icily at the few soldiers that came in. Albel would probably laugh at the small number. Nel then noticed that her weapons were missing. Nel knew that she could still do runology, but the soldiers didn't. If things seemed like they were going to get ugly, she'd let them have it. Nel _really_ hoped that Albel was coming to help her escape.

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So, what do you think? Please review and let me know how this chapter turned out! I'd really appreciate it. Any comment would be great. It's nice to know what people think of a story, so that the person writing would know if they should change anything for the next chapter. I don't know when I can update next, because on Monday I have new classes at school. I may be able to update on the weekend though (11/9) or (11/10). Again, please review, I like to know what you think of this story. (As usual, I'll try to keep updating my profile with any new info).


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you for reviewing! It seems like the updates are taking longer and longer. Anyway, this chapter is mostly Albel and Nel, with a few other characters. The next chapter will show what Fayt and the others are up to. So, here's chapter 13!

Disclaimer: Star Ocean 3 doesn't belong to me...darn...

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Nel leapt away from the soldiers, glaring at them as though daring them to come closer.

The soldiers laughed at Nel, thinking she was just trying to stay away as far as possible from them. They didn't know that Nel was waiting for even just one of them to take a step closer, to unleash her runology on them. Luckily for the soldiers, they stayed where they were.

One of the soldiers spoke up. "Hey, calm down, we just want to ask you some questions…we're not going to do anything to you..."

"Unless you don't answer them." Another soldier laughed. He shut up after a glare from the first soldier who had spoken.

The first soldier asked. "Where's the other person who was with you?" All he received was a cool glare. The soldier frowned. This didn't bode well. He asked several other questions, but received the same response. "Don't make us use force…" He warned, then stopped short at a laugh from Nel. The soldier glared at her. "Think that's funny?" He glanced at the soldiers behind him, and they came forward. The soldier grinned at Nel. "Last chance or we'll get the answers by force!"

While the soldier had been speaking, Nel decided she had had enough with his irritating voice. Who did this guy think he was? Nel let loose a barrage of ice needles at the group, all of whom retreated quickly from the area. The dungeon door was slammed shut, much to Nel's disappointment. She heard the soldiers retreating, and heard them calling back to her, about how she'd regret not just answering the questions. Nel kept alert, knowing they'd come back, possibly with reinforcements. She wondered again breifly if Albel was going to help her.

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Ven was still pacing, and halted as a soldier came into the room. "Well, did you learn anything?"

The soldier fidgeted nervously. "No sir…she attacked us with something that looked like icicles…we retreated…she's still in the dungeon…"

Ven sighed. Did he really have to do everything himself? "Bring her out to the castle courtyard, and bring the whole force with you. Just leave a few behind to watch over the castle."

The soldier saluted, relieved, and left the throne room to carry out the order.

Ven also left, heading for the castle's courtyard. If the prisoner wasn't intimidated, he'd have to think of another way to get the information he wanted. Why did things have to be so difficult?

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Albel grumbled to himself as he and Aiden got closer to the tower that was part of the castle. It had taken a long time to get this far. He hoped that Nel was okay. _'Hmpf…foolish women_..._making me worry about her…'_

A few minutes later the two saw the castle. They both ducked under cover as a few soldiers passed by.

When they were gone, Albel saw that Aiden was looking confused. "What is it maggot?"

"There should be a lot more soldiers…I wonder where they are…" Aiden answered. He looked around carefully.

Albel drew out his katana and headed for the castle. "I'll go find out…and destroy any of the worms that get in my way!"

Aiden followed him at a safe distance, _reall_y glad that he wasn't a soldier.

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Ven watched as Nel was led out of the castle and into the castle courtyard. He was up on the wall top, so he could survey the scene. Soldiers were everywhere, leering at Nel, seeming amused that they all had to be there when it was just _one_ person. Ven hoped that this would work.

Nel glanced around. There was no where to run. She looked up and saw Ven. _'Must be the leader…he's hiding…typical_..._'_

Ven saw that Nel had noticed him and spoke up. "Well, what do you think of my army?" He scoffed. She _had_ to be impressed.

Nel stared at him, couldn't think of anything to say, and merely yawned. Why did people think showing off their forces was supposed to intimidate someone? Nel had seen larger armies before, but didn't say so. The leader already looked furious about how she had just yawned at his statement. It wouldn't be smart to infuriate him more.

Ven was staring at Nel in amazement. She had just _yawned_ at him. Did that mean she didn't think much of his army? It took Ven a moment to realize that Nel had just begun to unleash a few runology attacks, knocking down several soldiers at a time. "Idiots! Attack her and capture her!"

The soldiers nearest Nel were blown back from another runology attack. Nel had to dodge as she fought back, and soon didn't have enough time to cast another spell. Nel glanced backwards. A wall…she was trapped. Nel braced herself for the oncoming soldiers, and was surprised when a few drew back.

The reason soon became apparent, as Albel appeared out of nowhere and drove several more of the soldiers back. He looked extremely furious.

Albel slashed at a few more soldiers, then sheathed his katana, and went over to Nel, who was staring at him in surprise. "Stop staring and get moving fool!" Albel snapped, and he and Nel ran along the castle's outer walls, ducking behind some rocks.

Albel and Nel sat down to catch their breathes. Nel didn't know what to say. She hadn't _really_ expected Albel to help her. Nel glanced over sideways at Albel. He wasn't looking at her. Nel shrugged, and leaned against Albel. She was too busy catching her breath to notice Albel's reaction.

Albel stared at Nel, suprised that she was actually leaning against him. Did that mean anything, or was she not paying attention to what she was doing? Albel sighed lightly. At least she wasn't hurt. Albel put his good arm around Nel's shoulder, pulling her into a half hug, and rested his head ontop of hers.

Nel had noticed what he was doing and was silent. Was he...hugging her? "What are you doing?"

Albel kept his head resting on Nel's to avoid eye contact as he answered. "I was worried…I didn't want you to get hurt.." _'What the hell? What am I saying...?'_

A stray arrow struck the rocks, with calls of 'surrender' audible.

"You...were worried?" Nel asked. This didn't seem at all like Albel. Had one of the soldiers injured him? Nel heard Albel mutter something, about how she was doing something to him. What did that mean?

Albel drew away from Nel. "I'll draw them off…" He said. Albel looked at Nel for a moment, silent. What _was_ she doing to him?

Nel's heart was racing as Albel rested his forehead against Nel's. What _was_ he doing?

Ruby eyes bored into emerald ones. "Find Aiden and get away from here." Albel looked away and stood up. As he was trying to decide which way to come out from behind the rocks, Nel hugged him from behind. Nel said something that Albel couldn't make out, then ran off to find Aiden.

Why had she just _hugged_ him? Albel shook his head, then hurried out from hiding, katana in hand, ready to draw attention from Nel.

Nel found Aiden hiding nearby. She turned back though, wondering if Albel would be able to get away.

Albel fought with the soldiers furiously, but more of them seemed to be coming out of nowhere to replace downed ones. He hadn't thought there were _this_ many of them. Albel managed to hold them off for a bit longer, before being over whelmed.

The soldiers hurried to restrain Albel, who was still trying to fight. The soldiers looked over at Ven for help.

Ven rolled his eyes. "Just take him to the dungeons!" Did he have to tell them _every_ little detail?

The soldiers struggled to carry out the order, since Albel was still attempting to fight, still causing trouble and damage.

Nel and Aiden watched as Albel was taken inside the castle.

Nel was currently trying to figure out how to help Albel. _'That idiot…why did he try to fight all of them…he must have known that he couldn't defeat them all…'_

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Albel held back a gasp as he was dropped unceremoniously onto the dungeon floor. What was the point of that? Albel glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers. What, were they going to interrogate him or something? Albel saw one of the soldiers dangle a vicious-looking whip. Albel looked away. Yep, interrogation time...he wouldn't say a word to those fools, no matter what.

The soldiers, after trying to interrogate Albel for over an hour, finally gave up and left the dungeon to go report to their king.

When the soldiers were gone, Albel slumped to the ground in relief. He didn't think interrogations were so tiresome. They seemed to go quick and easy when he was the one in charge of the interrogation... Albel closed his eyes, wondering if Nel had gotten away from the castle with Aiden. Nel..."Heh. Letting them catch me…I must be slipping…" Albel muttered to himself as he drifted to sleep.

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Ven paced back and forth, casting occasional glances at the doors that led to the dungeon. Why weren't the interrogators back yet? Surely they could deal with a half exhausted warrior?

"Be patient sire. They'll be along momentarily…" A calm, mellow voice said from the shadows.

Ven stopped pacing, looking bored. "Oh, it's you again...will you still not reveal who you are?"

"Not yet, but I will in due time." The mellow voice replied.

"What did you come here for then?" Ven asked. He didn't need this right now.

"Merely to inform you that your newest prisoner won't be willing to tell you or your subordinates anything." The voice answered.

"How would you know if he's revealed anything or not?" Ven demanded. The nerve...

This time the voice didn't answer.

Ven scowled, then turned abruptly as the doors to the dungeons opened. "Well, have you learned anything?"

The interrogators glanced at one another before one spoke up nervously. "He said nothing sire."

Ven dismissed them. "Try again tomorrow." When they were gone, Ven frowned. How had the voice known?

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Albel woke up at some point, and heard some guards talking outside the dungeon cell. He strained to hear what they were saying.

"Does the king want that guy we caught interrogated again?"

"I haven't heard anything."

"I did. The king wants him interrogated tomorrow."

Albel closed his eyes. That left him with about a half a day or so to recover. Albel was about to drift to slep again when a calm, mellow voice spoke.

"Ah, Albel Nox."

Albel came fully awake and glared around the room. There wasn't anything there...The voice spoke again.

"Don't bother trying to locate me...Ha, got yourself caught, now did you? They'll make you talk before too long. Pity you and your friends didn't just...disappear..."

Albel lay back down. "Bah! Show yourself fool!"

No answer.

Albel frowned and closed his eyes. Something about that voice bugged him. It seemed somewhat..._familiar_.

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End chapter. Heh, gives you something to think about... Anyway, please review, I'd like to know how this chapter turned out (and any other thoughts or comments about this chapter or story would also be appreciated). My Christamas break is Dec. 22nd to I think Jan. 1st, so I'll be able to update this story two to three times if I am able to. So, please review, I'd like to hear what you think about this story!


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it! I'm sorry for the delay. I know I said I'd update two or three times, but unfortunatly the computer at home refused to turn on until recently. So, this is chapter 14, and I will try to update it again this weekend.

Disclaimer: No, Star Ocean 3 doesn't belong to me.

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Nel and Aiden watched the castle guards patrolling the castle grounds. There were so many of them…

Nel frowned, hoping that Albel would be all right. She stared at the castle entrance in silence, wondering if she'd be able to maybe sneak in.

"There are too many guards around to try and sneak in…you'd probably just get captured again…" Aiden whispered, as though reading Nel's mind.

Nel blew out a frustrated sigh. "There has to be something we can do…" Nel looked at the ground. Albel had been captured because he wanted her to get away. Nel had thought that Albel must have injured himself…but now when she thought about it, he _had_ been acting a bit differently, ever since they had been transported outside the ship.

"What do you think we should do Nel?" Aiden asked.

Nel continued to stare at the castle. _'Yes…what should we do…'_

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Fayt had wandered into the conference room, and saw Maria talking with Steeg and Marietta. They were talking in low tones, appearing to be on edge and nervous about something.

At length, Maria nodded to both of them, and they left the room, passing Fayt on the way.

Fayt approached Maria, and she turned to him as he spoke. "Is something wrong?"

Maria looked away. "...Steeg and Marietta noticed some kind of frequency going off on the planet, near where Nel and Albel are. Steeg said it was too advanced for the planet..."

"What does it mean?" Fayt asked.

Maria looked at Fayt silently for a moment. "...It means that Albel and Nel could be in trouble. We need to locate them as soon as we can." She left the room, leaving behind a confused Fayt.

_'Something too advanced...I wonder what it could be...' _ Fayt thought, sitting down in a nearby chair.

Outside the room, Roger snuck around, plotting ways to annoy the crew members of the ship.

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Albel had his eyes closed, trying to ignore the guards assulting him with questions. Didn't they understand that he wouldn't answer them, no matter what? They had given up trying to beat the information out of him, and it seemed like they were going to give up soon. _'About time too...they'd have all been dead by now if I had my weapons.'_ Albel thought, glancing at the guards.

The guards had grown silent, and seemed to be considering Albel.

Albel didn't like how they were looking at him.

The silence stretched on until Albel thought he was going to go crazy and maybe find a way to destroy them.

"Let's bring him up to the king." One guard suggested.

"Yeah!" Another agreed.

Albel was hauled upright by some of the guards and led out of the dungeon. Albel walked along in silence, amused that these guards didn't do anything without consulting their leader. _'Pathetic maggots...'_

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Ven was still pacing in the throne room. He stopped short when he saw the guards enter with Albel. No one spoke, so Ven did. "Well...have you learned anything?"

One of the guards fidgeted. "N...no sir...he won't say anything..."

Albel held back a snicker. The guard looked about ready to faint.

Ven rubbed his temple, eyes closed, sighing. "Then why did you bring him up here?"

The guards glance at one another uncertainly. "Well sir..." One began.

"...What should we do to get him to talk?" Another finised.

"..." Silence.

Albel saw that the king, Ven, was looking very stressed out and annoyed, seeming to have no answer.

The calm, mellow voice spoke suddenly. "It seems your guards are incompitent."

Albel started, glaring around the room. It was that voice again, the one he had heard in the dungeon! Albel narrowed his eyes. "Show youself fool!" He growled.

"Don't worry, I will...very soon..."The voice replied.

Ven looked bored now. Since the voice wouldn't reveal itself to Albel, there was no point in even asking. "Did you come here to voice a suggestion, or just insult my guards?"

There was a pause. "A little of both, I suppose."

Ven frowned. He hated the voice's sarcasm. "Well...?" Ven prompted.

"I suggest that you leave him in the dungeon for a bit...I might drop by and get some answers from him for you." The voice said after another pause.

Albel was frowning in irritation. He knew he had heard that voice before.

Ven shrugged. He spoke to the guards. "You heard him! Take him back to the dungeon and lock him up."

The guards saluted, and led an annoyed Albel back to the dungeons.

Ven glanced around, gave up, and spoke. "You think you can learn something?"

"I can be more pursuasive then your guards." The voice answered.

Ven sighed and began to pace again. The voice was still irritating him. Whenever it revealed itself, it was going to be punished. Then life in the castle would be back to normal, like a few months before.

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Nel was walking slowly through the forest with Aiden, thinking. They were still close to the kingdom, but Nel knew that it would be useless to barge in alone... She stopped walking suddenly.

Aiden stopped as well, and looked up at Nel. "What is it?" He asked.

"Aiden...do you think your parents and the other villagers would help me get Albel back?" Nel asked.

Aiden fell silent. "They might...I had heard a few of the villagers saying that they'd like to take out some frustration on that kingdom..." He glanced up, seeing Nel dashing off. "Where are you going?"

"Back to your village. Even some help would be great!" Nel called over her shoulder.

Aiden hurried after her, wondering how many villagers would actually go back with them to the kingdom. Aiden sighed. He'd probably have to convince some of them.

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Albel had propped himself up against the dungeon wall, his eyes closed as he considered what he could do. Not much, seeing as he was locked up in a dungeon, weaponless. Again he hoped that Nel got away. Albel grumbled to himself. Why was he thinking about her again?

_'Because you like her.'_ A small voice said in his head.

"Hmpf." Albel huffed, expecting the voice to speak again. It didn't. Albel scowled, then sighed. Did he like Nel? Albel's thoughts were interrupted as the calm, mellow voice spoke up.

"Trying to figure out a way to escape...Albel Nox?" The voice asked, sounding faintly amused.

Albel opened his eyes. That voice again...it sounded familiar. Albel snorted. "Shut up fool!"

The voice laughed, and Albel knew he should know who the voice belonged to...but who?

"It's hard to do anything without your weapons...especially the gauntlet..." The voice said.

"!" So the voice knew about the gauntlet. Albel looked around more carefully. That meant that whoever the voice belonged to had been the one to steal his gauntlet. Albel narrowed his eyes. "Show yourself...and give me back my gauntlet fool!" Albel snarled. Whoever it was would get a severe punishment for stealing the gauntlet.

"Very well..." The voice said.

Albel braced himself against the wall. Very well to what?

There was a slight flash, which caused Albel to close his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, he saw the person to whom the voice belonged. "You..." Albel said, shocked.

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Nel and Aiden had reached his village, and had gone around, asking if anyone would go back to the castle to help Albel. Nel had been suprised at the number of volunteers, over fifty, which left her wondering how many actually lived in the village. Aiden's parents stayed behind with many others to watch over the village. Aiden tagged long with Nel and the other fifty, which consisted of males and females, all in their early 20s (Nel assumed). All of them seemed excited to storm the kingdom.

"It's about time! I can't wait to get there!"

"Yeah! It's long over due!"

"Those soldiers won't be a problem!"

Nel walked along the forest path silently._ 'How can they be so excited?' _Nel turned her attention to the tower in the distance. _'Albel...'_

Aiden walked along, excited that he'd get to see an actual battle, instead of just hearing them from others.

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Albel glared at the person standing on the other end of the small dungeon cell. It was Luther! He pretty much looked the same, except looking thinner and tired.

Luther sneered nastily at Albel. "What are you staring at?"

Albel glared at Luther, and calmly said. "I thought you were dead...so did everyone else..."

Luther gave a short laugh. "Ha! Well, that's you and your friends' fault." Luther looked away. "Though I thought that after deleting everything, you and your friends should have ceased to exist. How did you avoid that fate?"

Albel smirked at the word fate as he answered. "I'm not sure myself...but we were all still around, and so were the worlds...the universe..." Albel glared at Luther again. "Why aren't _you _dead?" Luther was about to say something, but Albel interrupted him. "Actually, just give me back my gauntlet fool!"

Luther gave Albel an offended look. "I didn't die. I managed to get away, but ended up here. I couldn't get away from this planet, so I decided to get some control over this kingdom. It was quite easy." Luther paused. "I waited around for a few months, waiting to see if any ships visited here. The only way I could get off this planet is to get on a spaceship. Either that, or wait for my powers to return." Luther smiled slightly. "Then I heard the soldiers talking about how their king, Ven, had gone deep into the forest with a few soldiers, and had spotted two intruders."

At this, Albel frowned. So Luther had know about him and Nel before anyone else. At least, their identity.

"I managed to get a description from Ven, and realized it was you and another. I thought Ven had been mistaken, it couldn't have been you." Luther continued. "But then I saw you, and I assumed that your other friends would probably be looking for you. If the ship gets close enough, I can board it. It looks like I'll have to wait though, and let your other friends locate you." Luther finished.

"You talk too much. Give me the gauntlet!" Albel demanded.

Luther waved a clawed gauntlet at Albel teasingly. "You mean this?"

Albel struggled upright, but found that Luther had vanished.

"Nel's headed this way..." Luther said in amusement, then left the area, leaving behind a faintly blushing Albel.

Albel sat back down. How much had Luther seen? Albel stared at the ground. Nel was coming back? "Nel..." Albel muttered. He hoped she wouldn't get herself hurt.

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Nel, Aiden, and over fifty others hid out of sight from the castle guards.

One of the over fifty slid over to Nel and Aiden.

"What should we do?" He asked.

"We wait here until it's night." Nel answered. She assumed that it would be easier to storm the castle at night.

The human nodded, and drifted back towards the others waiting, to relay the message.

Nel looked up at the castle in silence. _'Albel...' _She hoped that Albel hadn't gotten himself killed by insulting anyone...

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There! What did you think of this chapter? Please review and let me know! I enjoy hearing what others think of this story. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible(and update my profile). The computer should work, so I can actually type. Again, please review!_  
_


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you for the reviews! I can't belive that it's almost been a month since I last updated. Sorry about the delay. Found out that I really liked Kingdom Hearts 2 again, and it was hard to try and keep the characters of the Star Ocean 3 game away from being too OOC in this story.

Anyway, I managed to get this chapter finished, and I hope I will be able to get the next chapter up sooner than it took this one. So, here's chapter 15!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star Ocean 3...

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Fayt saw Maria running towards him. "What's wrong?" He asked, as Maria caught her breath.

"Steeg and Marietta have located Albel and Nel's positions!" Maria gasped out. "But they seem to be separated from one another." She added, before Fayt could speak up.

"W...where are they?" Fayt asked.

Maria grabbed Fayt's hand and dragged him down the hallway. "I'll show you." Was her answer.

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Albel laughed slightly in amusement as he mentally noted how many soldiers were surrounding him. He glanced up, and saw Ven standing on top of a nearby wall. _'Maggot.'_

Ven stared triumphently down at Albel, thinking that either Albel would talk, or that he'd be killed by the soldiers. Ven took a deep breath to speak, but stopped as Albel spoke up.

"I don't want to hear your voice fool. Why don't you have your soldiers try and attack me?" Albel asked, already in a bad mood, since he figured out what Ven had been thinking.

Ven puffed up, insulted. He had had the soldiers bring Albel up from the dungeons, but... "Kill him!" He yelled seconds later.

Albel smirked evilly at the approaching soldiers, and calmy drew his katana from its sheathe (he had grabbed it as the guards led him up from the dungeon, and they hadn't even noticed). Albel was doing fairly well against the soldiers, but soon began to realize that there were too many of them to deal with. _'Damn it...'_ Albel leapt back, only to be hit over the head with a spear. Albel fell to the ground and blacked out.

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Albel stared around in confusion. He was beneath the Airyglyph Castle dungeons, in the place where he had gone to see what was taking his subordanites so long. But why was he here? Wasn't he fighting all those soliders moments before?

"Albel Nox...you'll soon become one of my servents...just like the others you sent before." A cool voice said.

Albel glanced around, and stifled his suprise at the sudden appearance of the Ramiro. "What do you want maggot?" Albel demanded.

Ramiro merely laughed at Albel, and disappeared, saying "As soon as you die...you'll be mine..."

"Bah! That's what you think maggot." Albel scoffed to the darkness around him. He did hope that this was only a dream...

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"Albel." A voice called.

_'Leave me alone.'_ Albel thought wearily.

"Albel!" The voice presisted.

_'...Fine...fool...'_ Albel thought in annoyance. Why couldn't he just get some sleep?

Albel's eyes flickered open, and the first thing he saw was Nel leaning over him closely, her face a mixture of worry and anger. Albel glanced to the side. He was laying on the ground...in a forest...Wait...hadn't he been trapped in the castle grounds, fighting endless amounts of soldiers? Albel glanced back up at Nel. "What happened?" He asked.

Nel gave a slight sigh of relief. She shouldn't have worried so much. She should have known it would have taken more soldiers to take Albel down. _'That was a lot of soldiers he was fighting...and with just his katana...'_ Nel thought as she and Albel stared at each other.

Nel changed her expression to anger and annoyance. "What happened?! You had to go and insult the king, so that the soldiers would attack you. You're lucky we were able to get there and stop them from killing you." She answered furiously. Nel shoved Albel back down when he tried ti get up.

"We?" Albel asked. He really didn't appreciate Nel bossing him around. He watched in silence as Nel indicated the people around them. It was then that Albel realized that they were in some kind of camp. "Where...are we?" Albel asked, flinching as he tried to sit up again. Albel glanced down and saw that his chest was bandaged, as well as parts of his arms and legs. He sat up straight, ignoring Nel's disapproving expression. Albel frowned slightly as Aiden came over to them, his tail swishing back and forth, his ears twitching in irritation, seeming distracted.

Aiden brightened up slightly when he saw that Albel was awake and sitting up. "Oh! You're awake! Are you all right?"

Albel glanced around as he stretched. He noted in slight anger that he still didn't have his gauntlet. Albel's ruby eys hardened as he remembered who had his gauntlet. Luther.

"Albel?" Nel asked.

Albel looked up at her, then looked away as he spoke. "I know who has my gauntlet...I saw him in the dungeon..."

Nel became alert at the tone of Albel's voice. Feeling uneasy, she asked. "Who?"

Albel locked eyes with Nel's emerald ones. "Luther."

Nel's eyes widened. Was that even possible? She didn't doubt the truth of Albel's words, but she had to confirm it "Are you sure it was him?"

"It was him all right...and he's the one who's been giving Ven ideas..." Albel answered

"So...Luther is manipulating Ven?" Aiden asked. He ignored the curious looks from both Nel and Albel. Instead, he appeared to be deep in thought.

Albel shook his head. "I'll need to go back and get my gauntlet from that maggot..." Albel let out a gasp as Nel pushed him back down to the ground.

"You're not going anywhere with all of those wounds! They need time to heal...I could only heal a few of the more serious ones. Anyway, I'm going to take most of these people with me, and leave a few here with you." Nel told him.

Albel scowled up at Nel, but turned onto his side and closed his eyes "Fine." Was all he said.

Nel shook her head and got up to go and talk to the people around the low-burning campfire Within a few minutes, she and 45 of the group left, leaving behind Albel and five others to watch him.

Albel waited until they were gone for a few minutes, before glancing around for his katana. It wasn't with him...Albel sighed in annoyance. Of course Nel would have consficated his katana. Albel peered over his shoulder, to where the five people sat around the fire. He noted in amusement that they had dozed off. Albel sat up slowly, ignoring the pains shooting throughout his body as he stood up and looked around the camp for his katana

After a few minutes of searching, Albel found it beneath some leaves. _'Nice try Zelpher..'_ Albel struck out out of the camp, heading in the direction he hoped was the castle, where he'd find Nel...and Luther. He wondered breifly where Aiden had gotten to, but it soon passed out from his mind.

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It took Albel two hours to find the city, and another twenty minutes to sneak through it to reach the castle. Albel reached the walls that surrounded the castle grounds, and soon heard sounds coming from within. The clash of sword upon sword, and the thrum of constant arrows. Albel drew his katana, and peered around a half open door

The group Nel had brought with her were doing very well against the soldiers, especially since they were outnumbered.

Albel glanced around until he spotted Nel, and was relieved to see that she was all right. He watched Nel fight for awhile, admiring every move she made, until he realized what he was doing. Albel shook his head and looked around to see if Luther was anywhere nearby. He spotted Luther fairly quick, since Luther was floating in the air, sending random attacks at everyone in the area, laughing.

The latest move Luther was about to make looked like it would have devestating results, and Albel noticed that Nel was directly in the middle of where Luther intended to attack. Albel rushed forward, yelling. "Nel!"

Nel heard Albel and saw him approaching, while also noticing Luther hovering in the air nearby. Nel quickly cast an Ice Dagger attack, which threw Luther off slightly, making the attack fly overhead.

Luther glared down furiously at Albel and Nel, who were now arguing with one another. Luther began to form another attack, thinking that it would be nice to take both of them out.

Below, Albel saw what Luther was up to. He grabbed Nel, who looked suprised, and led her over to a ruined wall, which acted like a small barricade. The blast from Luther hit the wall, but it held, and both Albel and Nel breathed a sigh of relief.

Nel watched as Albel peered out from behind the wall. "Albel?" She asked. How was she supposed to talk Albel out of fighting after Luther nearly torched them both. Nel walked up behind Albel, thinking she might be able to knock him out for awhile.

Albel shook his head. There were too many enemies, and who knew if Fayt and the others would get there in time to help them? Albel turned around suddenly, and pulled Nel into a tight hug.

Nel stiffened in suprise. What was Albel doing? "A..Albel?" She was cut off as a desprate Albel kissed her soundly.

Albel broke away and turned back to peer out from behind the wall. "Stay here Zelpher" Drawing his katana, Albel rushed outside after Luther had uttered a rude comment. Maybe he could keep Nel safe at least

Nel stayed where she was for a moment, shocked. Had Albel just _kissed_ her? And then asked her to stay behind? Nel gave an angry huff. "Albel..you idiot!"

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Outside the ruined wall, Luther saw Albel exit and run towards him.

Albel got a few paces away from Luther, before speaking. "Give me back my gauntlet, you maggot!"

Luther gave Albel a bored look, then dangled the clawed gauntlet at Albel teasingly. "You mean this?"

Albel answered Luther with a shockwave from his katana.

Luther laughed, and sent a blast of energy at Albel, who managed to dodge it. Luther continued to laugh, but stopped when icicles hit him from behind, causing him to drop the gauntlet

Albel went for it in an instant, and scooped it up off the ground. With a few deft movements, the gauntlet was back in place and ready to be used. Albel sent an aura from the gauntlet's palm to counterattack another blast from a furious Luther.

Luther scowled in annoyance, but then turned his attention to Nel, who was dealing with a few soldiers. Luther glanced over his shoulder at Albel, an evil look on his face.

Albel felt uneasy, and hurried towards Nel as Luther prepared to send an attack her way, one that couldn't be dodged or diverted very easily.

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Yay! I got the chapter done! So, what did you think about it? Please review, any comments would be great. I'd also like to know if there's anything that could be done to make the story better, or if it's all right the way it is (I know I should have probably asked this earlier, but I didn't really think about it - I do plan to go back and edit it eventually).

If anyone has something to say, please review, I'd really appreciate it.


	16. Chapter 16

Thank you for the reviews! I appreciate it! Haha! I updated sooner than the last chapter! This one is mostly with Albel and Nel. Fayt and the others will show up in the next chapter.

Here's chapter 16!

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing from Star Ocean 3...

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Albel swore angrily as Luther's attck struck the ground near Nel. He couldn't tell whether or not Nel had managed to dodge it. Albel stopped in his tracks as Luther started to laugh.

Luther watched Albel in amusement. "What are you going to do now? I bet Nel is...!" Luther dodged backwards in time to avoid a furious attack from Albel. Luther glanced down, expecting to see Albel where he had been standing there before. He wasn't...Luther looked around in confusion.

Albel, after attacking, had run over to where Luther's attack had hit, and was relieved to see that Nel, though somewhat dazed, had managed to avoid the worst of the attack. Albel got Nel to her feet, and led her towards the group of people on their side, who had managed to keep part of the castle grounds from being over run by soldiers. Nel seemed to recover then, and Albel let out a gasp as Nel twacked him on the head hard. Albel rubbed his head with his free hand, glaring venomously at Nel. "What was that for Zelpher?"

Nel freed herself from Albel's grasp and took the lead. "For bring an idiot."

Albel scowled at her back. He had just helped her now, and all she did was hit him on the head? Albel walked faster, until he was walking alongside Nel.

Both of them seemed to forget about Luther a they bickered back and forth.

Luther hoever, hadn't forgotten about them, and was currently seething at the idea of being ignored. "How dare they..." He muttered to himself, as he went after them.

Nel and Albel had stopped walking, after seeming to jointly decide to begin a shouting match at each other, which included Nel telling Albel to stop being so reckless, and Albel telling Nel to stop worrying about every little thing. As soon as it had started, it tapered off until both went silent and just glared at each other.

Nel folded her arms, a slight smile making its way onto her face.

Albel decided right then that he wasn't going to like the question Nel would most likely ask.

"Why did you kiss me?" Nel asked, studying Albel's face carefully. She could have sworn she saw a blush after she had asked the question.

Albel looked away, trying to think up some excuse not to tell her. He did want to tell her that he had begun to care more and more for her after they were off the spaceship and away from Fayt and the others...but...

"Aren't you forgetting about someone?" Luther's voice asked.

Albel and Nel dodged to either side, as Luther's weapon struck the ground where they had been standing seconds ago. Both looked up to see that Luther seemed to have grown some wings, and was giving them an evil expression.

Lauther looked at Nel then at Albel. Nel was tired and injured from dodging his attacks and fending off soldiers. Albel, on the other hand, didn't seem to be badly injured.

Albel was staring silently at Luther, kind of glad that Luther had interrupted. That was fine with him, as long as he didn't know what to say to Nel. Albel had also noticed that Nel was injured and tired. He glanced up at Luther again as he drew his katana and pointed it at Luther. "How about a one-on-one fool?"

Luther grinned. "Very well." Luther lashed out with his weapon quickly.

Albel dodged, and countered with his own attack. He and Luther began to pursue each other all over the castle grounds, causing any soldier in their path to flee.

Nel was standing still, where she had leapt away from Luther's attack. Some of the people nearby began to back away, seeming to sense that she was angry. Nel watched Albel and Luther exchanging blows in silence, before walking towards the fight. _'Albel...you're an idiot...'_

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Luther laughed as he knocked Albel backwards, and watched him fall into a heap on the ground. "You're the fool, if you thought you could defeat me on your own."

Albel got back to his feet, and stared at Luther in silence. He probably would be able to hit Luther a few more times...Albel noticed that Luther was charging up a ball of energy. _'Damn...'_ Albel tried to figure out which way he should try to dodge, when suddenly Luther let out a suprised cry.

Albel looked up to see that Luther's attack was stopped with runology.

"Why were you trying to leave me out?" Nel asked, as she walked up from behind Albel to stand next to him.

Albel stared at her, then looked away with a huff. "You were injured, weren't you?"

Nel smiled slightly. "Were you worried about me getting hurt more?"

Albel kept looking away. "..." He readied his katana and gauntlet when he saw that Luther was still recovering from Nel's attack. Albel struck Luther with two successive attacks, causing Luther to reel backwards.

Luther recovered fairly soon, but was still breathing rather fast. He laughed to cover up his weariness as he spoke to Albel and Nel. "Your friends will be here pretty soon, I can sense it." He paused, then began to charge up another attack. "Too bad that all they will find are your bodies! Die!" Luther laughed crazily as he prepared to release his attack.

Suddenly, his wings shattered. "W...What?! H...How?...Why?" Luther saw a small figure leap over his head and land next to Albel and Nel. Luther stared in shock at who had destroyed his wings.

"You shouldn't let yourself be distracted fool!" Albel said calmy.

Luther glanced to one side. Albel was preparing to attack with both his katana and his gauntlet. Luther glanced to his other side, to see Nel ready to unleash a runology attack. The attacks struck home, and Luther let out a furious roar, followed by a "NO!", before disappearing.

Albel and Nel stared at where Luther had disappeared, before glancing at each other, then to the small figure standing nearby.

It was Aiden, and he was looking quite pleased with himself, his tail swishing back and forth, a huge grin on his face. Aiden let out a gasp as Albel hoisted him upside down by his tail. "Where did you come from maggot? What did you just do?"

Nel gave Albel a disapproving look, and managed to wrestle Aiden from Albel's grasp. She set him on the ground, then knelled in front of him so that they were eye level. "What did you do to make Luther's wings shatter?" She asked, ignoring Albel's scowl. Why couldn't he be decent to children?

Aiden's smile came back as he showed Nel a dirk that he was still holding. "This is my dad's dirk. He had some different types of magic put in it, so that it wouldn't break and stuff." Aiden paused. "He also made it so that it could cut through steel and the like, 'cause that would make better roofs sometimes."

"So it broke through the wings because of that?" Nel asked.

Aiden nodded. "Yep. Useful, isn't it?" Aiden turned to one side, onlt to come face to face with Albel, who was also kneeling. "?"

"What about when you were saying that Ven was being manipulated?" Albel asked.

Nel was glad that he hadn't called Aiden a maggot.

Aiden seemed to be searching for the right words. "Ven...isn't really the king...he was just the advisor to the king...the real king went into hiding...since Ven was trying to have him assasinated...but everyone thought he was dead..."

"You mean the soldiers and the people of the city think that Ven just took over to help?" Nel asked.

Aiden shook his head. "Not everyone...you noticed that some of the soldires weren't fighting, right?" No response. Aiden continued. "The soldiers are only following Ven's orders, because most of them think the real king is dead."

"Where is the _real _king, maggot?" Albel asked.

Nel sighed. _ 'I should have known...'_

"You know that some of the people in my village used to live here?" Aiden asked.

"Really?" Nel replied.

Aiden was smiling again. He looked over at the group Nel had brought with her. They were whispering excitedly.

Aiden's father suddenly came into view and he walke over to Albel, Nel and Aiden.

Nel nudged Albel and pointed at Ven.

Albel glanced at where she was indicating.

Ven was looking horrified, and was glancing around nervously at the soldiers around him.

A few of the soldiers looked suprised. One of them voiced aloud what many others couldn't due to shock. "Your majesty?"

"What?" Nel asked in shock. She glanced over at Albel, only to find him throttling poor Aiden.

"You _maggot_! You didn't say your _father_ was the _real_ king!" Albel roared at Aiden,who was struggling to get out of his grasp.

Aiden's father smiled calmly up at Ven. "Did you enjoy being king?" There was a hint of malice in those words.

To Aiden's immense relief, Albel left off chocking him to see what would happen to Ven.

Nel shook her head and held back a smile. _'He still hasn't answered me about why he kissed me...' _ Aiden's father gave some orders to the soldiers, who were more than happy to comply. Nel watched as they chased Ven around the castle grounds. _ 'I suppose I can ask him after this...'_

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Please review and let me know how this chapter went. Any comments are greatly appreciated (it's motivation, as well as feedback).

I think that this chapter may have been a bit shorter than some of the other chapters, since ideas for Kingdom Hearts stories keep popping in my head as I'm trying to type other things...

Anyway, please review. I love to hear what you guys think about this story!

So, thanks for reading this chapter. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be after this, since it's getting close to the end.


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it! Anyway..._where did my month go_?! It _can't_ have been a month already! But it has been...ugh...sorry about the wait...here's chapter 17.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star Ocean 3.

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Ven had finally been captured by the soldiers and dragged off somewhere to be punished, much to Albel's disappointment.

Aidan's father watched the soldiers leave, then turned his attention back to Albel and Nel. "Thank you for your help. Things should be much better around here now that Ven will be out of the way."

Albel was about to say something rude, but Nel, seeming to sense his intention, elbowed him roughly to keep him quiet.

Ignoring Albel's angry glare, Nel spoke to Aiden's father. "You're welcome."

"What will you do now?" Aidan's father asked.

Albel and Nel exchanged glances. Both were wondering if Fayt and the others would find them.

Aidan's father waited patiently as Albel and Nel conversed in low tones. Instead of figuring out what to say to the king, Nel had decided to ask Albel again about why he had kissed her. Albel was currently trying to figure out how to avoid answering the question, but it didn't seem like there was any way out of it.

Aidan's father was about to speak again, but was interrupted by a call.

"There they are! I told you my hunch was right!" Came Cliff's voice.

Aidan's father, Aidan, Nel and Albel all turned to see Fayt, Cliff, and Mirage walking towards them.

Albel appeared relieved when Nel's attention was diverted from him. Now he had a bit more time to collect his thoughts.

Nel was glad that she and Albel had finally been found, but was slightly irritated. If Fayt and the others had such good technology, she wondered why they hadn't been found sooner. Nel suspected that there was something else.

Fayt noticed Nel's irritated expression, and looked away. It must have been hard to be stuck all alone with Albel for all that time.

Cliff, however, was amused. He approached Albel, despite the other's eyes promising pain and a horrible death if the Klausian came any closer. Cliff came closer, but before Albel could release some anger on him, Cliff's question threw him. "So...did you guys kiss and...um..."

Albel stared at Cliff for a moment, before recovering and drawing his katana to give chase to the laughing blonde Klausian.

Mairage, Fayt and the others watched Albel pursue Cliff in confusion. What had Cliff _said_?

Nel shook her head, then turned her attention to Aidan, who was staring up at her silently. "What is it?"

"...Are you leaving?" Aidan asked.

"...Yes, we are." Nel answered.

"WIll you...come back and visit sometime?" Aidan asked.

Nel smiled. "Sure, we'll come back and see you."

Aidan beamed up at Nel, then ran over to his father.

Fayt called up to Cliff, who was trapped on a wall top by a very annoyed Albel. "We should leave Cliff!"

Cliff glanced down at Fayt. "Right!" He jumped down from the wall, amazingly not hurting himself, as Albel ran down from the walltop to try and intercept him.

Luckily for Cliff, all five of them were transported to the ship without warning.

---

Back on the ship, Roger was wandering around, happy _and_ depressed. Nel would be back on the ship soon, but so would Albel... Roger grinned. Maybe he should welcome Albel back. With a snicker, Roger ran off.

---

Albel and Nel were back on the ship, and Nel was quite happy to be back on it.

Fayt stretched, then spoke. "Now we can go on that vacation..."

"NO!!" Two voices shouted very loudly, causing poor Fayt to leap in fright.

Albel glared at the smirking Cliff, while Nel spoke to Fayt. "No vacation for us Fayt. Just take us back home."

"Uh...okay...if you don't mind not going...we'll see you in a few weeks though." Fayt replied.

"That's fine." Nel answered.

Cliff and Mirage exchanged glances, then dashed off down the hallway with a confused Fayt without another word, leaving Albel and Nel alone.

"What was that all about?" Nel asked.

Albel stared up at the ceiling. "Who knows what that fool and the maggots are thinking." When Nel didn't reply, he looked to the side, finding Nel staring at him in silence. "What?" He asked.

"You know what." Nel answered.

Albel looked away. "Refresh my memory Zelpher."

"Fine." Nel replied, then asked bluntly. "Why did you kiss me?"

Albel kept looking away. She just wouldn't leave him alone. How was he supposed to answer it now that they were back on the ship? Trying to think up an excuse not to answer, his thoughts were interrupted.

"Hey! You're back!" Came Roger's voice.

"What do you want worm?" Albel growled, glaring down at the menodix.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask something." Roger replied.

"Which would be...?" Nel asked.

Albel started reaching for his katana, gauntlet clenched. He had a pretty good idea what would come out of Roger's mouth. And the little worm would pay for it.

Roger started to grin. "Did you guys kiss and make out? You were alone together for a long time..." He shot off from the vicinity as Albel dashed after him, katana drawn and ready to deal out some damage.

Nel was left alone, and she was annoyed. Why was Albel avoiding answering the question? She walked off towards her room, only to be stopped by Sophia, who also asked if she and Albel had done anything. Nel walked off without a word.

---

"Where are you little worm?" Albel asked as he stalked the ship's kitchen. He had locked the doors, and he knew that Roger was in here somewhere. Albel held still, then smirked when he heard someone knock something over with a small gasp.

Albel leapt around a corner and dove at a frightened Roger. "You're mine you little worm!"

---

Outside the kitchen, Peppita had been walking by, and paused outside the door that had horrible screeches and evil laughter issuing from it. "?" Peppita opened the door, and quickly leapt bcak as Roger ran from the room, pursued by Albel, and shook her head once they rounded a corner.

---

Five minutes of chasing later...

Albel had Roger by the tail, prepared to do something horrible to the little menodix, when Marietta's voice spoke form who knows where.

"The transporter's ready."

Albel let Roger drop to the ground. He sheathed his katana and walked off. "Enjoy the first half of your vacation worm. The second half won't be as relaxing..." Albel headed for the transport room, pleased with the punishment he had given Roger.

---

A few minutes later, Albel and Nel were near Aquious, which meant that Albel had a long trek to get back to Ariyglyph, or Kirlsa, if he didn't want to go all the way back.

Since Albel didn't have to report back to the king right away, he still had some free time. Albel noticed that Nel was looking at him again.

Nel's hands strayed to her daggers as Albel approached her, until they were standing face-to-face with only a few inches between them. "What are you doing...!" Nel let out a small gasp as Albel leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek.

Albel backed away, amused with Nel's reaction, before heading in the opposite direction of Aquious, deciding that he'd go to Kirlsa. He glanced over his shoulder with a small smirk. "There was a meaning behind the earlier kiss you'd been asking about..." With another smirk, Albel turned away and walked off.

Nel recovered fairly quickly, and was about ready to follow Albel and beat a better answer from him when a Clair walked up to her.

"Nel, I thought you were going on vacation with your friends..." Clair asked, then noticed Albel walking away in the distance.

Nel shook her head. "Something happened, and we decided that we wanted to come back here."

"We?" Clair asked.

Nel walked towards Aquious. "I'll tell you about it later...what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in Arias."

"Well...something came up for me as well." Clair replied.

"Really..." Nel answered.

The two women walked as they began to exchange what had been going on while the other was away.

---

Later, at night...

Nel was in her bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. What did Albel mean? Nel rolled over and stared at the pillow for several minutes. "Idiot..." Nel muttered, once she thought she knew what Albel had meant.

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Finally got this chapter up. Please review and let me know how this turned out, though I'd appreciate any other comments. It's nice to know that people read the story.

I know that the next chapter will be the last one, and that it will be an epilogue.

I'll attempt to put it up sooner than a month, it might even be this weekend if I can type it up that soon. Until then, thanks for reading and/or reviewing!


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry that I didn't get this up earlier. I just couldn't get it to end. I think this chapter is okay for the ending of this story (Hopefully it is). I really, really appreciate everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. It was great motivation. So, here's the last chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star Ocean 3.

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It had been several months since the failed vacation, and Nel had only seen breif glimpses of Albel. But whenever she tried to talk to him, Albel always got away as quickly as he could. This annoyed Nel, since she really hadn't gotten any real answers from him. Though she assumed the faint blush she saw sometimes meant something.

One year later...

Nel had just finished a mission in Kirlsa, and was preparing to leave to report back to the queen in Aquios, when she saw Albel. He was loitering outside of Woltar's mansion, and seemed to be having an internal conflict. Which was probably why she was able to walk up to him without Albel noticing right away.

Albel was staring at the ground, muttering to himself. He was deciding whether or not he could talk to Nel, since he had spotted her earlier in the day. No doubt doing a mission or something. What was the point of that if there wasn't any war?

"Albel?"

Albel started at the voice, and glanced up to see Nel staring at him, a few feet away.

Nel held back a laugh at Albel's shocked and surprised expression.

Albel composed himself and looked away. "What do you want Zelpher?"

Nel folded her arms across her chest. "I was going to ask you that. I saw you following me around earlier."

"Oh." Albel looked away, then walked towards the mansion. "Come with me."

Nel rolled her eyes, but followed Albel anyways. Maybe she'd be able to get some answers now...she could always get Woltar to help her...

Albel halted outside of the mansion doors, and glanced over his shoulder. "Wait here." Then, he disappeared into the mansion.

---

Inside the mansion, Albel rummaged through several dresser doors, while ignoring the faint smile that was on Woltar's face. After several minutes, Albel found what he was looking for. Heading back for the entrance, Albel shot Woltar a warning glare, daring him to say a word.

Woltar merely smiled more, and waved at him to get going.

Albel growled something under his breath, before exiting the mansion.

---

Nel watched as Albel approached her, then stopped a few feet away. He held out his right hand. "?" Nel looked at was in his hand. A ring. Nel glanced up at him to see that Albel was blushing very faintly.

Albel muttered something that only Nel could hear, but she understood, and came closer to Albel.

Nel took the ring from Albel, then kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Albel was relieved that he didn't have to say anything. But he heard snickering... Albel turned about, and saw a few guards who had been watching, and Albel could tell that they were trying very hard not to laugh. They hadn't seemed to think that Albel was capable of falling in love. He'd deal with them now.

The guards scattered as soon as Albel dashed at them with a drawn katana. After Albel thought the punishment was enough, he went back over to Nel.

"I'll go tell the queen." Nel stated simply, then walked away. _'Seems like the same old Albel...'_

Albel guessed he had to tell the king, who'd probably make a big deal out of it, and insist that everyone in the kingdom would attend the wedding. As Albel prepared to leave, Woltar called to him from a mansion window.

"I was wondering when you'd ask her. Any longer and she would have said no."

Albel waved his gauntlet at Woltar in a threatining gesture. "Mind your own business old man!" He received only an amused chuckle. Albel stormed off, but had only gotten a few paces when an annoying voice spoke up.

"Are you and Nel getting married? Where is it going to be? Who's coming? Are you going to have kids? Have you ever...!" Roger (who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere) yelped in fright as an enraged Albel pursued him around.

"Where did you come from worm?!"

Nearby, Fayt, Cliff, and Maria watched the scene.

"Should we stop him?" Maria asked.

"I think we should..." Fayt answered.

"They're just having some fun." Cliff stated.

A high-pitched scream rang out.

"I'll stop them." Cliff said, and ran quickly to go and save Roger, who was in danger of being decapitated by Albel.

"Why did Nel agree to marry him?" Fayt asked.

"Maybe something happened between them when they were in that other part of this world." Maria responded.

Both winced as Albel nearly got Cliff with his katana.

Hidden from view, Nel watched, before shaking her head and leaving the area. She'd have to make sure that Albel and Roger would be seperated whenever the wedding would occur.

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Yes, that's the end. I've finally completed a whole story! (Sorry again for the delay). I think it may have died out the last couple of chapters, but I really wanted to get it done.

I'd appreciate any reviews, since I'd like to know how this story turned out overall. It was my first attempt at writing a story involving romance. So, if you'd let me know how it turned out, or anything that could be done better for another story, I'd really appreciate it! Constructive criticism would be great as well, if there was anything (though I should have asked in earlier chapters).

So, anyway, thanks for reading this story! (I may or may not write a sequel, but I might if people want me to).


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